Wounded Warriors
by TWDfan
Summary: Sequel to the Walking Wounded- Daryl, Katelyn and the others discover a scientist with vital information about the virus and must go up against the Governor again in order to get it back. This story is an adventure, a drama, and the next chapter in Daryl and Katelyn's romance.
1. Chapter 1

Wounded Warriors-CHAPTER ONE

"Where are you taking me?" Katelyn asked, trying to peek through the blindfold Daryl put on her.

"You'll just have ta be patient." Daryl drawled, deliberately accentuating his accent playfully, making

Katelyn giggle.

Daryl stopped walking her and reached for the chain so he could unlock the gate.

"Are we there yet?" She asked, wondering if stopping meant that they had arrived.

"Hold on." He chuckled, shaking his head at her.

"How much further?" She whined, deliberately drawing on the typical childhood trips in the car.

In response, he swatted her on the rump.

"If you don't behave, you're not gonna get your surprise." He warned, laughing at her outrageous behavior.

Steering her forward again, he stopped about ten feet outside the fence. She felt the tug of him pulling the blindfold and the light hit her eyes. Blinking at the blinding sunlight, she shielded her eyes with her hand and looked around, puzzled over what he was showing her.

The only thing sitting there was a beat up truck with the hood lifted.

Daryl started laughing when he saw the expression on her face.

"What am I looking at?" She turned around with her hands on her hips, looking at him with a sassy expression.

"I swore that when I got you back, I was gonna teach you how to hotwire a car so that next time you're running away, you can actually get away." His mouth started to form a smirk, but he tried to stifle it.

The look on her face was priceless. Wadding up the blindfold, she threw it at him.

Daryl was too busy laughing to see it coming.

Hitting him right in the face, his eyes popped open with surprise. Reaching up to grasp it, he slowly pulled in down and looked at his darling Katelyn who now stood in front of him with a smirk of her own.

"Oh, it's on!" He grunted, bolting forward to grab her in a frisky tackle, taking her down to the ground, and rolling her on top of him.

The minute Katelyn felt his arm snake around her, she squealed with merriment, and began laughing.

"Why you ornery…" She chided mishieviously, not finishing the sentence as he put his arms behind his head to stare up at her.

"Ornery what?" He urged, taking in every curve of her face.

Leaning down slowly, Katelyn's smile turned impish as her lips grazed the hair above his ear causing goosebumps all over him.

Her lips grazing the tip of his ear, he shuddered, tingling shooting up his neck. He noticed he was holding his breath as he waited. The tiny tip of her tongue snaked out to touch the creased edge of his ear. He could feel her hot breath on his skin and couldn't take it anymore.

In one move, he growled voraciously, rolling her under him.

Stretched out underneath him, she could feel his body pressed against hers and her breath quickened. He gazed down, waiting for her to meet his eyes and when she did, he lowered his mouth to hers. Running his tongue lightly along her lip, she moaned and grabbed the back of his head to pull him closer.

"Daryl!" They both heard the shout at the same time and froze.

"Daryl! Katelyn!" They heard it again, Daryl dropping his forehead to hers, and sighed in frustration.

"Shit." Daryl muttered, hearing Glenn calling his name again.

Kissing her on the forehead, he pushed up and off of her, slowly standing before yelling back so Glenn would shut up. Holding out his hand, he offered Katelyn his hand to pull her up.

Grasping it, she popped up quickly and stood in front of him.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Daryl took a couple of deep breaths, trying to cool his ardor. Looking at her again, he started smirking when he saw her blush and duck her head.

"You gonna ever not be shy?" He asked jokingly.

"You gonna ever not be stubborn?" She retorted causing him to shake his head in amusement.

"Don't worry. We can come back to this lesson later." He replied, winking at her before turning and walking back inside the compound.

God, she loved that man.

###########################################################################

"We need formula. We're running low." Glenn stated, showing Daryl the nearly empty container.

"Aight." He replied, trying to thinking of where he was going to find formula.

Rubbing his chin while he thought, Katelyn entered the room behind him. Turning his head for a second to see who entered, he smiled, before turning back to Glenn.

"Grab that map o' yours." Daryl said as Katelyn came to stand beside him. Lazily draping his arm over her shoulders, he pulled her close.

Glenn returned with the map and they all began studying it.

Daryl studied the map, looking at all the roads and towns along the way. He didn't know this area very well.

"There." Katelyn pointed to a small town of Newport Hills, "It's an upper class community, gated and everything. Lots of young, wealthy couples with lots of kids."

"Gated?" Daryl asked, thinking to himself that could be a good thing. If they could clear it out, it might not be a bad place to move to.

Daryl was still very aware that the Governor was out there and he was likely looking for revenge. He, Rick, and Tyreese had many conversations about moving, but without knowing where they'd go, this was still the safest place. He planned on making this a scouting trip as well. A gated community might be their best shot for a new place.

Looking at Katelyn, he smiled, squeezing her shoulders in a hug.

"Good thinkin'." He complimented, "Glenn, let's round everybody up and put together a group."

Before Glenn could respond, Katelyn volunteered, "I'll go."

Daryl shook his head.

"No." He stated emphatically, but Katelyn wasn't taking no for an answer.

"I'm going, Daryl. I know the area better than anyone and you've been teaching me how to fight." She stated quietly, looking Daryl in the eyes confidently.

Daryl shook his head. "Not a chance."

"Daryl Dixon, I am going on this run. I realized that you're worried, but we have to find out how well you've taught me at some point and I would rather it be before an emergency." With hands on hips, she raised her chin, squaring off with him determinedly.

Daryl didn't know whether to be proud, or pissed, but he took a deep breath and said, "All right, but you stay right next to me the whole time."

She nodded, a wide grin spread across her face and threw her arms around him excitedly.

"I've never known anyone ta be so excited about walkers." He muttered.

###########################################################################

Glenn, Maggie, and Tyreese loaded up in truck while Daryl and Katelyn rode the motorcycle. It was an 50 miles journey back toward Atlanta and to the west. Katelyn enjoyed riding on the cycle, especially since she got to wrap her arms around Daryl the whole way.

It was a relatively clear ride, only seeing a few stray walkers in the fields as they flew by. They turned off on the exit only 7 miles from Newport Hills. The forest line receded opening up into clear fields and small copses of trees. A few houses were sprinkled along the hills in the distance. Rickety fences lined the fields where a few horses grazed openly. Up head, Daryl could see the gated community walls, tall and made of beautiful stone, giving Daryl hope that walkers hadn't been able to infiltrate and there would be relatively few to deal with.

Slowing down, they turned into the driveway of the development. Glenn hopped out of the car and approached the gatehouse. Hopping the fence, he went into the small shack and noticed that the power was down. Stepping out, he waved everyone in. They would have to walk.

Daryl pulled his cycle over to the side and turned it off. Katelyn climbed off the back, and made sure that the axe she had was secure inside her belt. Daryl handed her a large machete style knife with a scabbard too and she strapped it onto her leg while everyone else geared up.

From where Daryl stood, the neighborhood appeared void of any movement and it gave him hope. He figured there would be a few stragglers in the streets and inside the million dollar homes but he was hoping that was all.

"All right. Let's roll." Daryl said, taking the lead, while Katelyn fell in behind him.

Daryl hopped the fence with ease, reaching up to help Katelyn and Maggie down. Looking around, he decided to head to the right where a beautiful castle-like home stood tall against the sky.

It was only about fifty feet that they had to walk before they got to the front door. Testing the doorknob, he found it locked.

"Glenn, check out the windows. See if you see anything movin inside." Daryl instructed.

Hopping off the porch, Glenn peaked in the window and looked around. The home was furnished beautifully, with marble flooring and white carpet. He didn't see anything inside so he nodded to Daryl.

"Nothing so far."

Daryl lifted his leg and kick the door as hard as he could. The door gave immediately and flew open.

"Million dollar house and they have a shitty front door…" Daryl commented as he entered the house, with Katelyn right behind him.

Entering the front room, they could see that the house was immaculate. Moving inward, they found two living rooms, one of which had a playpen set up in it. As they surveyed the first level, they easily found the kitchen and raided the cupboards. Surprisingly enough, it was fully loaded, and there were fresh vegetables in the bowl on the counter.

"Those are fresh." Maggie noted.

"How the hell are they still good?" Daryl asked, picking up a cucumber to inspect it.

"Somebody must have been here within the last couple of weeks." Katelyn answered.

"Maybe we should search the house before we load this stuff up." Tyreese suggested, before falling silent at the sound of a loud floor squeaking from upstairs.

"Someone's here." Daryl whispered, putting his finger up to his lips.

Crouching, he began heading for the stairs, Katelyn and Tyreese right behind him. Slowly moving up the stairs, he was startled when he saw someone bolt across the landing above. Not wasting any time, he charged up the stairs, slinging his crossbow onto his back as he ran. He knew they weren't walkers. They moved too fast.

The slamming door caught Daryl in the face, but he had been running too fast to stop and fell right through the door. Fortunately, the door also knocked the fleeing figure to the ground. Realizing that the door had the mysterious person pinned, Daryl slowly slid off and crouched down to look beneath it. Scrambling out from under it, Daryl was able to grab the hood of the person and yank them toward him.

Dragging the shrieking figure from underneath, Daryl held them up to get a better look.

It was a young woman.

Surprised, Daryl dropped her.

"Woh…easy." He said calmly, putting his hands up to show her he wasn't a threat.

"We didn't know anyone lived here." Katelyn added, trying to explain their presence there as she heard the others come up behind them.

The woman eyed both of them suspiciously before sighing in surrender.

"I found this place about two months ago." The woman explained, rubbing the back of her head where the door hit her.

"By yourself?" Katelyn asked.

"Yes. Everyone else was…" The woman paused, taking a deep breath, "…killed."

Daryl nodded.

"We came looking for baby formula and thought this might be a good place to search." Katelyn supplied.

"There's plenty of that I'm sure. They had a whole cupboard of it downstairs in the basement and some food storage as well." The woman said, "You're welcome to take it."

"Thanks." Daryl replied.

"My name is Madeline." She offered, extending her hand to shake theirs.

Katelyn took it readily and smiled at her in return.

"Where were you before?" She asked, curious about the woman.

"Atlanta." She answered.

"That's where they were." Katelyn explained.

"Yeah, we all met up outside of Atlanta, but it was bombed in an airstrike." Daryl stated.

"They were trying to control the spread of the outbreak." Madeline supplied.

Daryl's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"How d'ya know that?" He asked pointedly.

Madeline sighed, and sat down on the bed behind her.

"I was the government liaison to the CDC. We were frantically trying to sequence the DNA of the virus. It was us, France, and Switzerland, but the outbreak happened too quickly." She stated.

"We were at the CDC and there was only one guy left inside. He said everyone else fled." Daryl said irritably.

"Yes. I was with the mobile group, trying to stay one step ahead of the virus. They put us on a semi, rigged with a lab. We were being moved out because we had 99% of the sequence identified but then there was an attack on our caravan…" She threw up her hands, "…now I'm here and they're all dead."

"An attack?" Tyreese asked, stepping forward now.

"Yes. We were attacked by some sort of militia group led by a man called the Governor." She answered.

Katelyn's hand flew to her throat and she gasped, shivering in fear. Daryl's hand went to small of her back, letting her know that he was there and she was okay.

Madeline looked at Katelyn with a questioning glance.

"You know him?" She asked.

"Yeah, we know im." Daryl answered.

Madeline jumped up excitedly.

"Then you can help me!" It was an exclamation filled with hope.

"Uh…I'm not sure what you mean." Daryl asked.

"He took the sequence. It's on a flashdrive and when they raided the caravan, they took it. If I could get the sequence back and find a way to upload it to the French or the Swiss, we could find a cure." She prattled enthusiastically.

Everyone looked at each other with shock on their faces.

It was possible that this nightmare could end.


	2. Chapter 2

Madeline was a little disturbed at the sight of the prison. She had never been inside one and it bothered her to think of going within, but these people might be the only chance she would get to finish the work and find a cure for the virus.

She walked behind the crossbow-wielding redneck and his cute girlfriend, who kept turning around to smile at her. She was surprised when they brought her into a room with more people, one of which was missing a leg.

Rick was drinking some coffee when he looked up to see Daryl walking in with a stranger, and lifted his eyebrows in surprise. Michonne became alert right away and stood up from the table where she had been polishing her sword. She stood menacingly behind Rick, glaring at the newcomer.

"This is Madeline." Daryl announced before going over to the table to grab some coffee.

Rick moved forward slowly, offering a hand as he looked curiously at her.

"I'm Rick." He stated, nodding at her as if tipping his hat.

"Hello." She stated, looking over the motley crew.

"Uh, Daryl…where'd you find her?" Rick turned to ask.

"She was in the first house we searched. Been living there for a few months. Apparently, she was part of a mobile CDC lab looking for the cure." Daryl started walking back over with two newly made cups of coffee, offering one to their new guest.

Taking it gratefully, she smiled and nodded at him.

"Thanks." She replied.

"We were there. Everything was gone." Rick started talking fast, fascinated that they may have found someone who might know where they could go that would be safe.

"They evacuated us early. The disease was spreading fast and they wanted to stay mobile. We were close to finished when we were attacked." She explained.

"The Governor." Daryl offered, looking over at Katelyn to make sure she was okay. He saw her jaw tighten and she wrapped her arms around herself protectively. Daryl felt the anger rise again.

Katelyn still hadn't told him about what happened to her while she was with him, but he knew it wasn't good. He watched her closely while the conversation continued between Rick and Madeline and noticed immediately when she began to pull back. She did it slowly so no one would notice, but she was soon standing behind everyone, and as soon as they weren't looking, she slipped out of the room.

"I was hoping that your group might be able to help me get that flashdrive back." Madeline told Rick who was now pacing as he listened.

Daryl took the opportunity to slip out after Katelyn.

He searched everywhere inside for her but couldn't find her so he went outside to look. Seeing the tower, he headed toward it and climbed the stairs. Peeking his head into the room, he could hear her sniffling and sighed. Stepping quietly into the room, he didn't see her, but he could hear her and he knew she was sitting under the counter. Walking slowly across the room, he crouched down and found her sitting with her head on her knees and her arms holding her into a ball.

"Hey." He said quietly, before scooting himself under the counter with her. He felt ridiculous, but he wasn't going to drag her out of there.

"This is in no way your fault. You know that, right?" He asked softly, stretching out his arm to wrap around her.

She didn't answer, but he didn't expect her to. Using his other arm, he pulled her close to him and tucked her head into his chest.

"This world's made everyone nuts." He said, thinking about Rick and his walking the fine line of insanity.

He knew it wasn't working because she was still stiff against him so he let out a sigh.

"Hey. Look at me." He said as he lifted her chin up so he could look into her eyes.

Her eyes were filled with tears and sorrow. Lifting his hand gently to her face, he wiped them away and kissed her nose. She let her head fall forward, resting her forehead on his chin.

"He's evil." She whispered painfully, "Really evil."

Daryl smiled mirthlessly.

"Yeah." He acknowledged as he pulled her arms away from her legs to wrap around him before pulling her snug against him.

"You wanna tell me about it?" He asked, hoping that it would help her to talk about it, but not really wanting to know.

She shook her head into his chest.

"Do you think talking about it might help?" He prodded, laying his cheek against the top of her head.

"He was so angry but then he found out that Hershel patched me up." She started, "Then he just snapped. He was so filled with hate. He didn't care that I'd been hurt. He only cared that it'd been someone else that did it. He wanted to be the one to make me regret running away." The words just spilled from her mouth.

Daryl continued to stroke her back.

"He told me to take my clothes off." She said, choking on tears.

Daryl tensed up, rage beginning to boil as he imagined the worst.

"When I refused, he attacked me. Hitting, ripping my clothes off. It was just like…" She couldn't finish the sentence, but he knew exactly what she meant. The greasy haired bastard that'd hurt her was dead now, but Daryl wished he could kill him all over again.

"I blacked out and the next thing I remember, Dr. Stevens was looking after me." She finished.

"Dr. Stevens the black woman?" Daryl asked her pointedly, making Katelyn look up at him curiously.

"Yeah." She answered, searching his face for the reason he asked.

Daryl's jaw clenched tightly and she sat up to look at him.

"What?" She asked, wanting to know what was wrong.

"Nothin'." He responded, but she wasn't buying it.

"What!?" She demanded.

Daryl sighed, feeling guilty for his part in it. He had been trying to spare her the pain of being burned alive.

"She's dead." He stated, sparing her the details of her death.

Katelyn looked into his eyes and saw the pain there. Not knowing what was wrong, she pulled away slightly and sat up to look him in the eye.

"How?" she asked breathlessly, afraid to know the answer.

Daryl's face fell and he looked down at her.

"I killed her." He said sadly, looking away from her.

Katelyn was not expecting that answer and was stunned. She shook her head, her mouth hanging open in shock.

"No, no, you wouldn't do that." She stated emphatically, grabbing his arm.

"I had to." He said, staring down, avoiding her pleading gaze.

"Why…What do you mean you had to?" She demanded, trying to understand.

"She was…they were going to burn her alive. She was screaming…" He couldn't finish. He knew how it sounded to her and she had the same look on her face that the others had when he killed Dale.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Katelyn stood up.

Daryl didn't even try to defend himself. He hadn't wanted to tell her because he had been afraid of her reaction. He knew that wasn't a world that most people lived in. They were too busy clinging to any scrap of life they could to realize that sometimes death was the merciful answer. It had been too late to save her. The burns would have been unbearable even if they had. She would have existed in a state of hell with no hospitals and doctors, she probably would have died a slow agonizing death. It was the kindest thing he could do.

But Katelyn was horrified.

Glancing up from under the counter, he saw her backing away in horror, shaking her head in denial, before leaving the room entirely.

Daryl blew out a long-held breath and hung his head in sadness.


	3. Chapter 3

Katelyn sat alone in the bunk, thinking about her father and the horrible monster he had become.

_Poor Daryl, _she thought,_ Having to make that kind of decision._

And it was all because of her father.

Katelyn hung her head in shame, tears falling from her eyes. Her father was a menace worse than the virus. Even in his absence, he found a way to hurt the people she cared about. Anger began to build inside of her at the thought of her father's treatment of Daryl. She had been so focused on her own pain, she hadn't realized what Daryl had suffered.

How could she be so selfish?

Sighing with sadness, Katelyn laid her head down and closed her eyes.

########################################################################

Carol found Daryl in tower, not watching for walkers, but sitting under the counter that once acted as a desk for the officers on duty. She could tell instantly that something was wrong. His location, however, merely confused her, as she wasn't sure exactly why he would be sitting under there.

He didn't look up when she entered.

"Daryl?" She called out softly.

He didn't answer.

"What's going on?" She asked, moving closer to him now.

Tilting his head back, he leaned it against the wall and looked at her.

"I fucked up." He stated without emotion.

"What?" Carol asked, confused as to what he was talking about.

"I fucked up." He repeated, thinking that he had finally found someone who he could love, but then he screwed it up, like he always screwed things up.

"What…how did you fuck up? I don't understand." Carol sat down across from him, trying to piece together the puzzle.

When Daryl didn't answer, she nudged him with her hand.

"How did you fuck up Daryl?" Carol prodded.

Daryl lifted his head to look at her. She could tell that had been crying and it broke her heart. She hadn't seen him like this since he thought Merle had died.

"I fucked it up with Katelyn." He whispered, his brows drawing together in anguish.

Carol shook her head in confusion.

"What makes you think that?" She asked, thinking how obviously happy they had been this morning.

"I killed the doctor that saved her." He explained, but it made no sense to Carol. She obviously was missing something.

"What doctor? Where?" She asked, trying to clarify.

"The doctor that saved Katelyn from the Governor. They was gonna burn her at the stake like some damn witch. They started the fire. I knew we couldn't save her and she was screaming in agony, so I shot her to put her out of her misery." Daryl said before continuing, "Just like Dale."

Carol took a deep breath and let it out sadly. Taking Daryl's face between her hands, she forced him to look her in the eyes, "You did the right thing, Daryl. You ended her suffering, just like Dale."

Tears sprang to Daryl's eyes and he shook his head out of her grasp but she grabbed it again, forcing him to look at her once more, "Why do you think Katelyn is mad at you?"

Daryl closed his eyes.

"I told her and she left." He said softly, sadness accenting every word.

"Oh Daryl, I'm so sorry." She said, pulling him forward to hug him.

Carol sighed as she put her arms around him in comfort. He deserved to be happy. He was a good man. One of the best she'd ever met. It was easy to love him…now. After the horrible, gruff exterior started to slip away, it revealed a sweet-natured, relatively boyish man. She'd never say it to his face, but he was adorable.

Kissing him on the forehead, she said, "This will all be okay. She loves you and that's too rare for her to give up easily.", but Daryl had already given up hope.

##########################################################################

Carol entered the cell block to find Katelyn asleep in her bunk. Walking quietly into the room, she smiled as Katelyn awakened with a frown of concern.

"What's wrong?" Katelyn asked Carol, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"It's Daryl." Carol said quietly, sitting down on her bed.

Katelyn jumped to her feet in terror, turning pale instantly as horrible thoughts attacked her mind.

"Oh my god, is he…" She couldn't finish the question, her hands flying to cover her mouth as she burst out crying.

"No…oh my god…he's fine." Carol stated, rushing to calm Katelyn.

Sitting down on the bed, Katelyn couldn't stop shaking.

"You love him." Carol said, smiling softly and kindly, taking Katelyn's hand to calm her.

Katelyn nodded, wiping the tears away from her face.

"Very much." She whispered.

"You're not mad at him?" Carol asked, suddenly confused as to why Daryl thought she would be.

"Of course not. Why would you ask that?" Katelyn answered, not understanding.

"Oh lord." Carol rolled her eyes in amusement and couldn't help but smile, "You two."

Katelyn looked at Carol, confusion written on her face.

"Is Daryl upset with me?" Katelyn asked, thinking that Carol was inferring that her worst fears were now realized and Daryl hated her.

"God no." Carol assured her quickly, "Just go talk to him."

Patting her hand, Carol stood and exited the room with a twinkle in her eye.

Rick saw her walking out of the cell with an amused smile on her face and was curious.

"What's going on?" he asked her.

Carol smirked.

"Young love." She stated enigmatically.

Rick looked into the cell for a moment, still confused as to what she meant.

Carol patted him on the arm and walked over to sit with Maggie.

##############################################################################

Daryl needed air.

Grabbing his crossbow, he exited the prison compound and entered the woods. He thought that hunting might take his mind off of Katelyn.

Walking softly on the ground, he found the worn trail of a deer and began following it. Focusing his mind on the hunt, he began to stalk his prey.

The trail led to a thicker area and Daryl stopped to look around. That's when he noticed a small hunting cabin leaning precariously toward a deep ravine. Moving forward quietly, he raised his crossbow, readying himself for a fight. Tapping the door with his foot, he noticed it was slightly open and pushed. Ducking inside quickly, he swung his crossbow right to the right and then the left, making sure the hut was clear of anything moving. All of a sudden, pots were knocked to the floor in a loud crash, startling Daryl into shooting one of his arrows at a scrambling, terrified raccoon.

"It's yur lucky day." He muttered under his breath, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

Rummaging through the cupboards of the ransacked kitchen, he found cans of spam and some corn beef hash, but then something in the corner caught his eye. Turning, he saw a latch sticking out of the floor. It was obvious that the cabin had a cellar and Daryl hurried over, grabbing his flashlight. Shining it down below, Daryl saw gun racks and ammo alongside of shelves of survival gear.

"Jackpot." Daryl said to himself.

After searching, Daryl found an old army backpack and started packing as much as he could into it to take back. He knew he'd have to come back so he covered the cellar door with an old rug and turned to leave.

_BAM!_ He didn't even hear the man enter, but he felt the gunshot tear through his shoulder, knocking him backwards into the wall.

The world began to spin as Daryl struggled to stand up. He struggled to drag air into his lungs as he reached out his hand to the chair in front of him for help, but his legs collapsed, sending him sprawling onto the floor again.

The last thing Daryl saw before the world went black was a pair of black boots standing in front of him.


	4. Chapter 4

Katelyn stood in the tower watching the forestline as the sun went down. She had searched everywhere for him but couldn't find him. Everyone assumed he had gone hunting, but he should have been back by now.

She knew something was wrong.

As the sun ducked behind the trees, she couldn't take it anymore and raced down the stairs and into the prison.

"He's not back yet." She said as she flew around the corner, grabbing her knife and axe to strap them on.

"Woah, Woah, Woah," Rick said, grabbing her arm to stop her, "You can't just go running out there on your own. It's getting dark."

"I know it's getting dark! That's why we have to go after him!" She shouted, ripping her arm away from Rick.

"Hold on." Rick said soothingly, trying to calm her down.

"Something's wrong! I know it." Katelyn said through clenched teeth, shoving her knife into her belt.

Carol came up to stand behind Katelyn, her hands on her shoulders in comfort as Katelyn started to cry.

"Shh…shh…shh….Let's figure this out. You've searched the whole place? Rick asked, coming to stand in front of Katelyn.

"Yeah." She nodded, wiping the tears from her cheeks, "Something's not right, Rick."

Rick looked at her for a moment, putting his hands on his hips, before letting his head fall forward to think.

"Okay. Let's get geared up and go look for him." Rick said, causing Katelyn to throw her arms around him.

"Thank you!" She cried.

It was less than five minutes later when the group exited the compound and headed out into the forest. Using their flashlights, they decided to call to Daryl and began yelling his name, then waiting for a reply.

"If he came out here, he was hunting which means he'd follow a trail." Katelyn said, looking at Michonne who was the best tracker besides Daryl.

Michonne nodded.

"Let's look for the most worn deer trail." Michonne said, sweeping the flashlight slowly along the ground until she spotted a heavily used one.

"There." She said, pointing at it.

Michonne took the lead and everyone began following.

It didn't take them long to find the cabin and they were immediately leery. Michonne crouched low, listening, but only heard silence. Motioning for them to stay, she moved forward silent as a cat.

It didn't take her long to realize that the door was cracked open. She stepped slowly into the doorway and her nostrils were assaulted with the metallic smell of blood. Flashing her light down, she saw Daryl sprawled on the ground, bleeding profusely.

"Shit! In here! He's in here!" She yelled, sweeping the room quickly to make sure no one else was there, before moving over to kneel beside him.

Katelyn ran through the door before Rick could stop her and stopped abruptly upon seeing him. Crying out in horror, she ran to him, dropping down to her knees beside him and trying to wake him.

"Daryl!" She screamed, "Daryl!" But he didn't move.

Rick hurried over to the other side, laying his fingers on his neck to check for a pulse. He could feel it beating, but it was weak.

"We gotta get him back to the prison." Rick said, slipping his arm under Daryl's head while motioning for Tyreese to do the same.

"Let me, " Tyreese said, "I can carry him fireman style."

With that, Rick helped Tyreese pick him up and drape him over his shoulders as gently as they could.

"Oh my god. He's lost so much blood." Katelyn was babbling hysterically, shaking so bad she could hardly move. Maggie took her arms and looked her in the eye.

"You need ta snap out of it. We gotta get him back to my daddy fast." Maggie wasn't being gentle. She knew that they had to move quickly if they hoped to save him.

Katelyn nodded, biting her lip to keep from crying.

Tyreese took off in a jog. The rest followed quickly behind him.

########################################################################

The crashing of the door and the chaos of voices alerted Hershel that something was wrong. Limping over to the door, he saw Tyreese carrying Daryl over his shoulder.

"He's been shot!" Rick shouted, running around to help Tyreese lower him onto the table. Katelyn hurried to grab the I.V. bags and tubes, knowing that he was going to need fluids.

Maggie ran for the bag with the scalpel and other tools as the men took his shirt off so they could see the damage.

"Jesus." Rick muttered, cringing at the sight of three holes in his chest.

Hershel looked sharply at Rick and then at Katelyn who was startled by Rick's comment.

"All right, people, we're gonna need to work fast. I need that I.V. set up with a bag of saline and betadine if we've got it. Maggie, put my tools on the tray and bring that stool over here." Hershel started issuing orders.

Katelyn had been taught how to start an I.V. by Dr. Stevens months ago. She just never thought she'd have to practice on someone she loved. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer before inserting the needle in the vein in his arm.

Grabbing the tape, she secured the I.V. needle and line to his arm and hung the bag from the stand. Moving around to the bucket, she grabbed clean gauze and began cleaning away the blood around his wounds as Maggie sterilized the instruments. Hershel was probing the wounds to see how deep they were.

Katelyn had to remind herself to breathe as she looked at the three wounds. One, hit him on the shoulder, the other one in pectoral muscle and the third one, is the one that made her nervous. It was below his breastbone which meant it was possible it had hit an organ.

"Please, please, please." She whispered quietly, begging for God to save him.

Stepping back, she wiped her sleeve across her forehead, watching Hershel get to work.

It was an hour later when Hershel began working on the third wound.

Katelyn stood on the other side of the table, holding the light so Hershel could see. She was quiet, her breathing deep and slow as she concentrated on counting her breaths. She was trying to remain calm.

Carol entered, walking over to Katelyn, and asked, "Switch me. You could use a break for a minute."

Katelyn handed her the light and took the chair right next to him. Leaning over, she took his hand and put it into her own, pressing it to her cheek. He felt cool, his skin slightly damp with a fine mist of sweat. His breathing was slow and ragged as she watched and in her head, she kept saying, "Breathe baby, breathe."

"Got it." Hershel said quietly, lifting the fragment of the shell from his chest.

Katelyn let out a sigh of relief.

"Maggie, hand me that alcohol." Hershel said, holding out his hand.

The minute the alcohol hit his wound, Daryl's eyes flew open and he struggled to sit up. Katelyn grabbed his shoulders to push him back down as blood started pouring from the wounds again.

"No! Daryl! It's okay. Lay back." He was senseless and she knew it, but was hoping that her voice would calm him.

Maggie helped push him back down to the table and Katelyn stroked the hair back from his forehead.

"Shhh." She crooned, as he once did for her.

His eyes slowly closed, and his body relaxed again, letting Katelyn know he was asleep once again.

"Is he out?" Hershel asked.

"I think so." Katelyn said softly.

"Good, cuz I'm gonna stitch him now." Hershel replied, getting the suture ready to sew him up.

Daryl moaned when he put in the first suture but didn't stir.

Katelyn stroked his hair and prayed.


	5. Chapter 5

He felt like shit.

Without even moving, he knew he hurt all over. Turning his head slightly to the side, he realized he was in the prison, laying in his bed, only his arm was covered in copper hair. Puzzled, he looked down a little and saw that Katelyn was asleep in a chair with her head resting next to him on the bed, and her hand was holding his limply.

Even though he was in pain, he smiled a little and tried to sit up.

That was a bad idea.

Searing, pain shot through his chest and shoulder, making him gasp for air. The arm that she was laying on, flailed uncontrollably, waking her up with a start. Daryl squeezed his eyes shut against the pain, hoping that if he breathed deep enough, it would dissipate.

It wasn't.

Katelyn was startled awake by Daryl's movement, her eyes flying to his face to see it scrunched up in agony.

"Shit." She mumbled, thinking she had hurt him, "I'm sorry baby. I'm sorry."

Pulling away, she was surprised when he grabbed her arm to stop her.

"No." Daryl muttered through clenched teeth.

"Okay. I won't go. What d'you need?" She whispered, putting her hand back on his forehead to soothe him.

She tried to turn to look at her, but he couldn't because pain shot through him.

"Fuck!" He gritted out in agony.

"Hershel!" Katelyn yelled, realizing that he needed more medication.

Maggie bolted into the room ahead of Hershel. Seeing the look on Daryl's face was enough. She knew exactly what was wrong and ran over to the table where the syringes were filled and waiting. Hurrying over to Daryl and Katelyn, she stuck the needle into the I.V. tube and injected.

"It'll only be a few seconds. Hang in there." Katelyn said, trying to keep him soothed. She could feel the tension in his body. His fists were clenched and every muscle was tight and hard.

She waited, counting in her head.

She knew the minute the medication hit because he let out the breath he'd been holding, and his muscles began to relax. All the while she brushed his hair back from his face.

"Better?" She asked, when he opened his eyes.

He turned to look at her, a small smile on his face. She could tell he was three sheets to the wind because his eyes were glassy.

"Hi." He said, reaching up to touch her face.

"High is right." Katelyn said, chuckling at the effects of the morphine.

"I think I was shot." Daryl mumbled, looking comically confused.

"Yeah, you were." Katelyn looked at Maggie who was grinning while answering him.

Leaning forward, she kissed him on the forehead.

"Hey. You missed." He said with a big stupid grin on his face.

"Wow. He's gone." Maggie chuckled.

Katelyn kissed him gently on the lips but pulled away before he could grab her.

"Nice try but you don't feel as well as you think you do. You're just on medication." Katelyn warned.

"Come on. Gimme a kiss." He looked hammered as he looked up at her with his lips pursed. It was hard to keep a straight face when he looked so adorably silly.

"Maybe later, when you're feeling a little better." She replied, "You need to get some rest."

She could already see the meds were dragging him under. His eyelids were drooping and his speech was slurred.

"I'm sssorry." He mumbled to her, "ssso tired."

Katelyn smirked lovingly and pulled the blanket up around him.

When she looked back down, he was asleep.

##############################################################################

Katelyn found Rick outside in the courtyard.

"Hey." She said, walking over to stand next to him.

"How's he doin?" Rick asked, concerned about Daryl.

"He'll be okay. He's just in a lot of pain." She said, looking over at Rick and smiling, "Thank you."

He looked up at her and smiled back.

"He'd have done the same for us." Rick said.

"Yeah, he would have." She agreed, thinking back to when he had done just that, for her.

There was an uncomfortable silence that followed, neither one knowing what to say. She really wanted to talk to him about her father and their plan but was afraid to bring it up.

He beat her to the punch.

"What do you think would be the best way in to Woodbury?" Rick asked.

Katelyn was surprised, but immediately began thinking.

"Well, he's probably solidified the defenses by now so we're going to have to use a ruse to get in…and that's dangerous." She stated, putting her fingers through the fence to lean it a bit.

"He's seen Glenn and Maggie, and Michonne, and you're out of the question…" Rick began thinking, pausing for a moment before speaking again. "He's never seen me."

Turning to look at Katelyn she began shaking her head.

"There's no way. You could be perceived as a threat to him. He's just as likely to kill you as he is take you in." She answered emphatically.

"Then who?" He asked passionately, "This mission is important for everyone."

"I know. I get it, but if we send any of the men in there it might not end well." She said.

Rick's head popped up suddenly with an idea.

"Carol." Rick said, his eyes wide as the idea sank in, "She's the least threatening one of us."

"I don't know." Katelyn said, thinking about poor Carol in the hands of her father.

"We should at least approach her…ask her." Rick said. If so much wasn't at stake, he would never suggest this, but this was a unique situation.

"I don't like this." Katelyn said, sighing as she followed Rick inside.

######################################################################

Carol was sitting in with Daryl when Rick and Katelyn found her.

She smiled up at them but then saw their serious expressions.

"What's wrong?" Carol asked, hurrying over to them.

"We need to talk to you 'bout somethin'" Rick said, sitting down on the bench.

Carol sat down slowly next to him.

"We need someone to infiltrate Woodbury so we can find that flash drive." Rick explained, "If we send in any of the men, he might see them as a threat. He's already seen Michonne and Katelyn can't go back…"

"…and you want me to infiltrate." Carol finished for him.

"I wouldn't normally ask this. I know it's dangerous, but Madeline needs that flash drive…for all of us." Rick stated emphatically.

Carol chewed on her lip, raising her hand to her chin as she paced. She was terrified, but she also understood the importance of the mission. Thinking about all of the people that she cared about who had died, she didn't see how she could say no. This could save everyone.

"Okay. I'll do it." She whispered, turning around to face them.

Rick was surprised. Grasping her shoulders in his hands he looked intensely into her eyes, "Are you sure?"

She nodded, closing her eyes to gather her courage.


	6. Chapter 6

Daryl sat up against the pillows with his arm raised over his head as he poked and prodded his mending wounds.

"Stop that." Katelyn scolded, grabbing his hand away from the stitches that were about to be taken out.

Daryl smiled. He'd been giving Katelyn hell for two weeks now as they tried to keep him in bed, but today, he was done. No matter what, he was getting up.

"You're worse than a five year old." She said with a smile, laughing at his antics.

Daryl grinned mishieviously, grabbing her arm and pulling her down on top of him.

"I want that kiss now." He said, looking into her eyes.

Katelyn surrendered and lowered her lips down to his. Daryl's arms reached up to pull her snugly against him, ignoring the pain of his improving wounds as she melted into him.

"Hh-hem," Hershel coughed from the doorway, shaking his head at the young couple.

Katelyn pulled away, turning red immediately. Daryl, however, was much less embarrassed and smiled wickedly at Hershel.

"She's lucky you interrupted." He said as Hershel made his way across the room to get his tolls.

"You're supposed to be resting still." Hershel chided, moving over to sit next to Daryl.

"Not a chance. I've been in this bed long enough." Daryl retorted, flinching as Hershel snipped the first stitch on his shoulder.

"Well, you still need to take it easy." Hershel reminded him, knowing full well that his orders weren't going to be followed. Daryl was nothing if not stubborn.

Daryl snorted.

Hershel finished snipping the sutures and grabbed his tweezers. He pinched the tip of the stitch and tugged gently, pulling it through the skin.

"Ow!" Daryl yelped, startled when Hershel pulled it out, "Damn man!"

"Sorry. I should have warned you." Hershel said as he pulled another one. This time, however, Daryl was ready and merely made a face when he removed it.

Katelyn rolled her eyes at Daryl, knowing he was just giving Hershel a hard time. Katelyn walked over to the chair where Daryl had thrown his shirt and was about to pick it up when Carl came running in.

"They're about to leave, Kate." Carl yelled, before turning around to run back out.

Katelyn froze and turned slowly toward Daryl who was looking at her with a puzzled expression. No one had told Daryl about the plan to infiltrate Woodbury and she knew that Daryl would be upset.

"Hey. Who's leaving?" Daryl asked, calling out to Katelyn from his bed.

Katelyn took a deep breath and turned around to look at him.

Daryl could tell by the look on her face that something was up.

"Katelyn?" He asked, getting worried now.

Katelyn walked back over to the bed. She and Hershel made a fleeting glance at each other before she turned back to Daryl.

"You know what Madeline told us about the flash drive, right?" Katelyn began, waiting for Daryl to nod in understanding.

"Yeah…" He said, drawing out the end of the word into a question.

"Well, we knew that we wouldn't be able to sneak into Woodbury to get it because the…my father will have upgraded the defenses by now, so we came up with another plan." She continued.

Daryl frowned. If this had to do with the Governor, then it wasn't good.

"We decided that the only way in would be a ruse." She finished, trying to avoid the rest of it, but knowing it wasn't going to work.

"Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like this?" He asked, his eyes narrowed.

"One of us needed to infiltrate the town. One of us that he's never seen and wasn't a threat to him." She said.

"Who?" He asked, his voice becoming sharp now.

Katelyn took a deep breath and sighed.

"Carol." She stated, waiting for his explosion.

Daryl froze, every part of him knew this was a bad idea.

"What!?" He shouted, jerking away from Hershel who was pulling the last of his stitches.

Hershel grabbed his shoulders to stop him from moving so he could finish.

"Are you crazy!?" He continued to yell, letting Hershel settle him back in.

"I know. We all know. We just don't have another way and this could save…everyone." She tried to explain, knowing how dangerous it was and why he was worried.

"And Carol was your best idea!?" He grated out.

"Carol was the only choice. She's the least intimidating member of our group so my dad won't see her as a threat. There was no one else." Katelyn explained.

Katelyn knew that Daryl cared about Carol a lot and wasn't surprised by his outburst. Everyone agreed that the plan was dangerous, but everyone also agreed that the mission was important enough to make the risk worthwhile.

"I care about Carol too. She's become a good friend to me." She continued, grabbing his face between his hands to look at her, "If this wasn't about saving the human race, I never would have let them. Of all people, I know exactly what kind of danger she's walking into."

Daryl grimaced, shaking his head slightly. He knew what they were saying was true, but he still didn't like it. Carol was a gentle soul and this was far too risky. She'd never survive the Governor if he found out.

Daryl sighed, nodding his head in understanding.

#####################################################################

Katelyn watched from the woodline as Carol stumbled her way forward. The first part of this plan was risky, as she had to be in danger in order to get Woodbury's attention so Tyreese and Rick used a makeshift animal noose, rounded up a walker, and set it loose behind her so it would chase her. It didn't take much for Carol to "act" scared because at this point, she was unarmed.

Carol ran down the road, stumbling along the way as the creature gave chase. She saw piles of old cars, flipped on their sides and ran for one of them. Ducking behind it, she scooted along so it couldn't see her, then burst out from behind cover to run for it. The walker turned toward her and continued to pursue.

Looking over her shoulder, Carol didn't see the gate up ahead as she ran blindly. She knew Rick was off in the distance with a sniper rifle in case the creature got too close, but she was still scared. She dodged to the left, crossing back over the road, and lost her shoe causing her to start hopping a little on the gravel.

Shrieking, she put her foot down and started running again.

_Crack!_ She heard a gunshot and saw the walker drop to the ground. Stopping, she took deep breaths, her lungs screaming in agony from all the running. Looking around her to see where the gunshot had come from, she spotted three men on top of a makeshift wall.

Woodbury.


	7. Chapter 7

Carol was terrified, as the men approached her and she started to back away. It was obvious to the men that she was so one of them put up his hands and called out to her.

"You allright?" He asked, stopping his movement forward.

Carol nodded.

"You need some help?" He called out again, trying to size her up. He could tell she was shaken and it was obvious she had been through hell. Being a genuinely nice guy, he didn't want her to be afraid of him.

Carol looked around as if searching for any other alternatives before answering.

"I've been walking through the woods for three days. I saw this road, but there were walkers everywhere. I thought I'd lost them." She explained.

"Why don't you come with us? We've got food and water. You can leave tomorrow once you've rested, if you'd like." He offered but he could tell she was nervous so he added, "There's plenty of other women here as well. You won't be alone."

She looked relieved, pausing for a moment, before nodding.

"Come on. Let's get you settled." He said, motioning with his hand for her to follow.

She passed by the gates, following the man who'd been talking to her. Upon entering, she was immediately struck by the normalcy of the town. Children were running around playing tag, women and men were in groups, talking and working. She saw gardens blooming and someone was playing a guitar. She was amazed that they had managed to build all of this and smiled with nostalgia.

"This way," he turned around to walk backwords, "By the way, my name's Aaron." He introduced.

Carol smiled shyly.

"And you are…" he asked, trying to assess her. She seemed to be somewhat timid and she was definitely overwhelmed with everything.

Startled, Carol stopped staring at the surroundings and turned to look at him.

"Oh! It's Carol." She blurted out.

Aaron smiled warmly, opening the door to their headquarters to allow her in.

Stepping into the building, Carol noted how many armed men there were inside and it made her nervous. She must have looked visibly disturbed by it, because Aaron smiled encouragingly at her.

"These guys are our guards. They patrol and keep us safe." He nodded at a few of them who were checking out the "new" guest.

Taking her through a few more doors, he led her into a room where three men were gathered.

One of which was Merle Dixon.

Carol gasped when she saw Merle's face and he did a double take before breaking out in a wide grin.

"Well look what the cat dragged in." Merle hooted, swaggering over to her.

"Merle?" Carol was shocked. She hadn't expected this. Her mind began racing with panic, the walls closing in around her. She stumbled a little, feeling lightheaded. She knew she was going to get found out, probably die, but she didn't think it would be this soon.

Merle saw her sway and actually took her arm to steady her.

"Woah there girl." He said, helping her over to a chair.

"You know her?" Aaron asked, surprised as well.

"Hell yes I know her. She was married to that asshole, Ed, used to smack her around." He offered, checking her out like she was prey.

Carol sat in a stupor of shock, scrambling to think of a plausible story now. They had come up with one but no one knew that Merle Dixon would be here.

"What happened? They leave you behind too?" Merle asked, shoving a canteen of water into her hand. Even Merle noticed how pale she looked all of a sudden.

Carol shook her head, no.

"N…no. I got separated…at the farm. There was a herd." She answered somewhat truthfully.

"The Gov'na gonna wanna talk to you." Merle said, nodding at one of the other boys to go and get him.

"Th…the who?" She stuttered.

"The man who run this town. He's called the Gov'na." He replied.

Carol shook her head, trying to appear confused.

"Why?" Carol asked.

"Cuz "our" mutual acquaintances done give him a hard time." He answered enigmatically.

"I don't understand." She said, looking up at Merle.

"He'll tell ya. For now, just relax, drink that water and tell me about Daryl." He ordered, pulling up a chair.

"Daryl? Daryl was at the farm." She told him.

"Did he survive?" Merle asked quietly.

Carol looked at Merle sympathetically. Merle was a dick, but Daryl still loved him.

"I saw him riding away on his cycle." She answered honestly, not adding the part where he rescued her as well.

Merle nodded.

"I pray he's alive still." Carol said quietly.

Merle laughed.

"You sweet on my little brother?" He asked merrily, enjoying her discomfort.

"Merle!" She expounded, "Stop it! I cared about your brother. He was good to me when…" Carol paused, letting the emotion of losing Sophia fall across her face.

"When what?" Merle was curious now.

"When my Sophia went missin'." She answered softly, sadness bringing a frown to her face, "He searched for her long after everyone else gave up."

"Sounds like maybe my little brother was sweet on you." Merle whooped, laughter accentuating his loud exclamation.

"No. He wasn't. He just…cared." She finished, trying to end the conversation now.

Thankfully, a tall man with a patch over his eyes entered the room, interrupting any more conversation with Merle.

"Well who's this?" the man asked, his southern drawl charming and dripping with honey.

Merle shoved his thumbs into his belt and said, "This here is Carol. One of the old group."

Carol could see the man's jaw clench tightly and surmised that this would be none other than, The Governor.

A chill ran down her spine.

"The old group, huh?" He asked, looked her over.

"They got split up at a farm when it was overrun with walkers." Merle supplied the answer for her.

"Really?" He drawled, his eyes narrowing.

Carol shifted nervously, looking nervous.

The Governor must have noticed because his voice became somewhat lethal sounding.

"Why you look so nervous?" He asked her.

But it was Merle who rescued her.

"Ah, that's just how she is. Her old man used to beat the shit out of her. She's always been timid." Merle stated, snorting at the thought of that stupid son of a bitch, Ed.

Carol looked embarrassed and stared down at her feet.

The Governor looked at the woman sitting before him, noticing her demure posture and her quiet voice and nodded. It made sense.

"Well, nobody here's gonna do that." His voice actually softened, "You're safe now."

Carol took a slow breath and looked up at him.

"Let's, uh, get her a place to stay." He said, motioning for one of his men to take care of it.

"There's someone here who might like to see ya." The Governor said mysteriously, making Carol look at him with confusion.

The Governor held the door for her, and she walked through it. Taking her down the hallway, she was brought into a room with a fireplace.

Carol gasped in surprise, and then cried out, putting her hands over her mouth.

Standing in the middle of the room…was Andrea.


	8. Chapter 8

"It's been two weeks since she's been there. How long we waitin?" Daryl asked, walking over toward Rick.

"We're supposed to make contact with her in one week. She's supposed to leave a message for us." Rick stated, glad to see that Daryl was up and moving about.

Daryl leaned against the fence, folding his arms across his chest, and staring down at his boots.

"Katelyn's worried sick about her." Daryl stated quietly, not wanting anyone to hear.

Rick nodded, putting his hands on his hips and looking down at the ground.

"We all are." He said.

"Do we have a plan ta get 'er out once this is done?" Daryl asked pointedly.

"Hadn't thought a that yet." Rick answered honestly.

Daryl chewed on the skin around his thumbnail, a habit he had never gotten rid of since childhood. He couldn't see any way out of this except a violent one and that didn't bode well for Carol.

"I gotta tell you something." Daryl turned to look at Rick.

"What?" Rick asked.

" That day outside of Woodbury, when I told you I'd meet you in the woods…" Daryl began, "I stayed behind because they were puttin' a woman on a bonfire to burn 'er. Once they started the fire, she was screamin' so I shot 'er. Killed 'er."

Rick wasn't surprised. Daryl had always been the one willing to make the hard decisions. He had shot Dale in an act of mercy that no one else had been courageous enough to do.

Rick looked Daryl in the eye and saw guilty there.

"You did the right thing." Rick said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"The woman, was the one that helped Katelyn escape…" Daryl kept going, "This isn't about me, it's about what they're gonna do to Carol if they find out."

Rick didn't say anything.

"Shit! That son of a bitch terrorized his own daughter. Can you imagine what he's gonna do to Carol?" Daryl spat, furious that the man still breathed.

"Yeah." Rick nodded, understanding what Daryl was getting at.

"Michonne and I've been talkin'." Daryl said, looking to see if Rick understood that they were going to have to make a plan to get her out…and soon.

"All right." Rick said, turning to face Daryl, "I'm listenin'"

"We think we can slip in and kill him." Daryl said softly, watching Katelyn walking across the outer yard.

Rick sighed.

"We need some intel from Carol first though." Daryl stated.

"You wanna try getting' a message to her?" Rick asked, understanding where his train of thought was going.

"Yeah." Daryl said.

"All right." Rick answered. At this point, anything was better than nothing.

#################################################################################

"Tell me about this friend of yours." Phillip said as he lay stroking Andrea's side.

"What? You mean Carol?" Andrea asked, stretching her back as she gazed up at him.

Phillip nodded.

Andrea shrugged nonchalantly.

"She's…well…she's quiet…sweet. Kind of shy. Why? You planning on playing matchmaker?" Andrea laughed at the thought.

Phillip lifted Andrea's arm and ran his lips lightly along the length, giving her goosebumps.

"Just curious." He said softly.

"I'm actually surprised she survived on her own. She's about as harmless as a churchmouse." Andrea chuckled, "But I'm glad to have a friend here."

Phillip nodded, his gaze already far away as he thought about their new addition to Woodbury.

He had a hard time believing it was a coincidence. Andrea had been in the same herd invasion at the farm and had come through here a month or so ago. She and Michonne had been living for months before that. If she was so weak and harmless, how had she survived this long on her own?

"Where do you think she's been?" Phillip asked, coming back from his thoughts.

Andrea raised her eyebrows, "I dunno. Want me to ask her?"

Phillip smiled down at Andrea.

"You read my mind." He said, before leaning down to kiss her.

#############################################################################

"You can't go back there!" Katelyn yelled, terrified of the thought.

"I can't just leave her in there, Kate." Daryl knew she was going to flip.

Daryl reached out his arms to take her shoulders and pulled her into him. He wrapped his arms around her as she shook her head, refusing to let him do this.

"Then I'm going too." Katelyn said softly.

Daryl jerked away, holding her at arm's length, instantly furious.

"Hell no!" He shouted, just the thought of that made his stomach turn.

"I'm not letting you go alone!" She shouted back.

"I'm going with Michonne!" He told her.

Katelyn shook her head furiously.

Daryl sighed looking at the terror in her eyes and took a deep breath. Pulling her into his chest again, he leaned his cheek on the top of her head.

"You're gonna kill him, aren't you?" Katelyn asked, still stiff in his arms.

Daryl's eyes closed with regret. He knew, just like Merle, that no matter how much she hated The Governor, he was still her father, and she would mourn the man he used to be.

"Yeah." He answered softly, leaning his forehead against hers.

Her eyes closed and tears escaped from under her lashes.

He was afraid that she would hate him.

She was afraid he wouldn't come back.

Katelyn leaned into his chest, wrapping her arms fully around him and let the tears fall.

Daryl's heart jumped in his chest. He had expected her to reject him but instead, she clung to him.

"You don't hate me?" He asked quietly.

Katelyn pulled her head away from his chest to look up at him.

"I could never hate you." She whispered, the tears making her eyes luminescent.

He put his hand up to the back of her head and pulled it toward him again as he squeezed her tightly.

"Stay with me tonight?" He said softly.

Katelyn's breath caught in her throat.

She didn't know if she was ready.

Fears started to rise in her head as she replayed those words, over and over. Daryl felt her start trembling and sighed. He knew he shouldn't have said it, but he couldn't help himself. He loved her and if this was the last time he was going to see her, he wanted to be with her.

Looking down into her eyes, he could see her struggling with her fear.

"I love you." He told her tenderly "I would never hurt you."

Katelyn's eyelashes fluttered as she glanced downward, too ashamed to look him in the eye.

Reaching up, he lifted her chin until he could see her gaze again.

"I know you're afraid." He said, "I promise, we can stop anytime you want."

Her breathing came in short pants and her heart was racing so fast she felt like it would jump out of her chest. Before Gerold, she had never…been with anyone. Her first experience with this had been that filthy, disgusting animal, and now she had nothing to compare it to, leaving her doubly afraid.

He could see her mind working, and wondered what she was thinking.

"Tell me." He whispered, urging her to share her thoughts with him.

Glancing shyly at him, she took a deep breath and tried to speak, but nothing came out.

"Come here." He said, taking her hand and guiding her over to sit on the bed.

She balked, her eyes getting wide as they approached.

"I just want to talk." He said, slightly exasperated at this point.

She felt stupid. She knew that she was being irrational but she couldn't help it.

"Hey." He said gently, "It's me. What's going on in that head of yours?"

She looked at him and sighed.

"Before…" she left the rest hanging, but Daryl knew what she meant, "I'd never…I've never…"

Daryl understood immediately, and felt like the biggest asshole on the planet.

"Shit." He swore under his breath, letting out a pent up breath.

"You'd never been with anyone." He finished for her, frantically trying to reign in his passion.

She felt even more ridiculous now.

"I'm just…nervous." She said quietly, peeking at him from under her lashes.

"Yeah, well, you and me both." He muttered, shaking his head in self-amusement. Not only was he trying to seduce someone who had been traumatized, but now he found out that she was a virgin to boot.

Falling back on the bed, Daryl stared up at the ceiling. Taking a few more deep breaths to calm himself, he was surprised when she laid down next to him.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, her words heavy with shame.

Daryl sat up to look down at her.

"You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. I'm the dipshit here." He told her fervently.

She shook her head.

"I love you. I want to…be with you…I just…I'm just scared." She said quietly.

He looked down at her and his face softened. He brushed the hair back from her brow and smiled.

"Me too." He admitted.

She reached her hand up to his neck, pausing for a moment to look into his eyes, and smiled reassuringly, before pulling him down to meet her kiss.

"I love you." She whispered as she reached over to turn out the lamp.


	9. Chapter 9

Andrea and Carol walked down the street, their arms around each other. To the people of Woodbury, they looked like sisters telling secrets to one another. Carol hadn't told Andrea much because she was trying to figure out how Andrea ended up in the bed of the Governor. It was obvious that she didn't know about Glenn, Maggie, Katelyn, or Daryl.

She was hoping to get her alone somewhere today and a picnic was a good excuse.

The two women walked toward the grassy patch behind the buildings and spread out the blanket. Andrea had been surprised when Phillip asked her to get information from Carol and something like a warning nagged at the back of her mind. She had pushed it away, and today, she just wanted to spend time with her friend.

"So what happened to you after the farm?" Andrea asked, as she set out the plates.

Carol took a deep breath. She was nervous to tell Andrea, but she knew that she was a good person.

"Andrea, there's something I have to tell you." Carol whispered, making Andrea look at her strangely.

"Keep putting out the food. Act like we're chatting." Carol continued.

Andrea's stomach clenched in a knot. She could tell by the way Carol was acting that something was wrong.

"Okay." Andrea said as she looked at Carol.

"I wasn't separated from them at the farm. I've been with them the whole time, but there's something going on you don't know about." Carol said.

Andrea took a breath, trying to act non-chalant.

"The Governor isn't what you think he is." She stated intensely.

"Daryl found a girl in the woods. She'd been…abused." Carol decided not to give the graphic details, but continued on with the story, "We brought her back to where we're staying, and in the midst of this, we find out she was from Woodbury."

"What!? Who?" Andrea demanded, but Carol held her finger up to her lips to hush her voice.

"I'll get to that. Right around that time, Merle caught Maggie and Glenn, and brought them here. I'm guessing you were never told, but the Governor…he…tortured Glenn and nearly…." Carol stopped for a second. She knew that Andrea was sleeping with this man, but she needed to tell her.

"He nearly, what?" Andrea demanded, the knot in her stomach growing.

"He nearly raped her. He was trying to scare her, force her to tell them where we were located." Carol finished.

"I can't believe this." Andrea was shaking her head, her hands shaking.

"I'm so sorry…I'm not done yet though." Carol continued, "The Governor captured Daryl when they broke Maggie and Glenn out."

"Oh my god. That was the night of the attack." Andrea surmised, chills beginning to crawl up her spine.

"The girl that we'd rescued was in love with Daryl, and when she found out he was captured, she revealed who she really was; the Governor's daughter." Carol said, putting her hand on Andrea's arm and motioning for her to continue scooping food.

"His daughter died." Andrea explained.

"His youngest did, right? Penny. He has an older daughter named Katelyn." Carol explained.

Andrea shut her eyes for a moment to calm herself. She was growing cold and numb with each passing word.

"She wanted us to trade Daryl for her. She revealed that she had run away from her father because he was a monster…lying to the people, covering up horrible crimes, and when I say horrible, I mean horrible." Carol insisted, "I'm sorry to be so blunt but we don't have much time."

"This is crazy." Andrea hissed, getting angry now.

"It gets worse. Katelyn had to escape again and the Governor killed Dr. Stevens, who helped her escape. Burned her on a pyre." Carol stated.

_That was night he wouldn't let me out of the house,_ Andrea thought to herself. _Son of a bitch!_

"Then, while on a run, Daryl and the others found a woman who worked for the CDC. She said that she was part of the mobile labs and they had been close to sequencing the virus, but their caravan had been attacked by someone calling themselves the Governor. Her research was stolen…a flashdrive marked with a CDC logo." Carol said, pausing when she noticed two guards walking toward them.

"Someone's coming." Carol whispered.

Andrea picked up a grape and nibbled on the outside. Slowly turning her head, she noticed the two guards and began smiling.

"So I've been hiding inside a church for a month. They had food storage in the basement and a kitchen on the main level. One night, men broke in and I had to run." Carol said, loudly enough for anyone listening to overhear.

Andrea glanced at the men again before turning back to her and smiling.

"Well you're safe now." Andrea replied.

The Governor watched from the building, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

#############################################################################

Daryl lay with his head propped up on his hand, looking down at the smooth, silky back in front of him. He smiled, remembering the night before, and leaned down to kiss the tip of her shoulder. He studied the curve of her delicate jaw and cheek, wondering how Daryl Dixon ever got someone so beautiful to love him. He draped his hand down and picked up a coppery curl, twirling it between his fingers and laid his head down in the pile of curls on his pillow. Turning his head inward, he took a deep breath, smelling her hair and kissed her ear.

Katelyn woke up to feeling Daryl's arms wrapped around her and smiled. She had no idea why she had been afraid. It was the loveliest night she'd ever spent. Turning over, she smiled up at Daryl, who had been studying her.

"Good morning." She whispered.

Daryl smiled brightly, noticing that she didn't seem nervous or shy.

"Mornin'" He replied, smirking at her as he played with her hair.

"What are you smirking at?" She asked playfully.

"You." He answered honestly, his smirk turning into a smile for a second, before becoming serious.

Katelyn frowned when she saw him turn serious.

"What?" she asked, worried that something was wrong.

"How do you feel?" He asked her, wanting to make sure she was all right.

_Oh, that's what he's worried about_, she thought, making her blush.

Daryl smirked again.

"There's my shy Katelyn." He quipped, taking her fingers and kissing the tips, before looking at her again.

Katelyn smacked him on the arm playfully.

"I'm fine." She told him, blushing from head to toe, making him laugh.

"I didn't realize that about redheads." He said, pulling her close to him.

"Realize what?" She frowned, wondering what he meant.

"That when you blush, you blush from head to toe." He smirked again.

Katelyn growled, ducking under the covers.

"Too late. I've already seen you." He told her, poking his fingers into the sheets where he could see the curve of her ribs. Finding them, he tickled her, making Katelyn squeal.

Rick was about to enter the room, when he heard the giggling. Turning around with a smirk on his face, he went back down the stairs.


	10. Chapter 10

Andrea paced back and forth in her room. She didn't know what to do. She needed to talk to Carol…to finish the conversation. Her thoughts raced as she played her words over and over again. A part of her still didn't believe it, but her gut told her that it was real. That Carol…and Michonne, had been right.

She went over to the cabinet and took out her gun. Checking it to make sure it was still loaded, she shoved it in her waistband, under her shirt.

She jumped when she heard the door slam, and waited, reaching for her gun and shoving it under the sofa.

Phillip came walking in with a smile on his face.

"Hello sweetheart." He crooned, looking her up and down. Normally, that would make Andrea smile, but this time, it made her skin crawl.

She forced herself to smile anyways and walked over to give him a kiss.

"How was your picnic?" He asked casually.

_Yeah, you bastard, I'll bet you wanna know, you lying sack of shit!_ She thought in her head.

"It was…okay." She said, not wanting to appear too excited or upset.

"Just okay?" He asked, curious.

"Well, it's nice having her here, but I feel bad for her. She's been through a lot." Andrea started making it up as she went. Unlike Carol, she, was a good liar.

"What d'you mean?" Phillip asked, going to pour himself a drink.

Andrea's eyes narrowed at his back.

"Well, her daughter died…after months and months of searching and when the herd came, she got separated. She's not exactly the survivor type. She said she was too scared to leave and hid back in the farmhouse and blocking all the doors and windows. She said the herd was there for a couple of weeks before it finally moved on. She stayed locked in that house for months. Finally, the food ran out and she knew she had to go." Andrea said offhandedly.

Phillip took a drink of his bourbon and sat down on the sofa.

"Eventually, she found a road and started following it. Slept in cars that were abandoned. Lived off of stuff she found along the road. Some more farmhouses…stuff like that. She got in trouble a couple miles away from here, she said, and ran, but there were a lot of walkers in the area…poor thing. Must have been scared shitless." She finished, raising her eyebrows as if she was thinking about what she suffered and sympathized with her.

"Carol's a good woman. She had a jackass for a husband and didn't deserve what happened to her. I'm glad she's here." Andrea said before sliding into the seat next to him, and wrapping her arms around his waist.

Phillip took another drink, looking down at Andrea's head which rested on his chest coldly. Something in his gut told him something was up, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"If you're glad, I'm glad." He said, putting his drink down so he could wrap it around her.

Andrea smiled up at him, but the smile never quite reached her eyes.

###########################################################################

"How're we getting this message to Carol?" Daryl asked, while sitting around the "dinner table".

Rick paused, putting the spoon down, to think.

"We're gonna have to sneak up close enough for someone to leave it in the designated spot." Katelyn offered.

"Yeah, well it ain't gonna be you." Daryl retorted, casting her a glance that said, "I ain't arguing with you about this either."

"I'll do it." Michonne offered.

"You do kinda blend." Daryl joked, earning a glare from Michonne which only made him chuckle harder.

Katelyn kicked him under the table.

"I can get in and out and no one will see me." Michonne said.

"I agree. We'll be in the woodline offering sniper cover if something goes wrong." Rick added, looking at the others who nodded their heads.

"We'll use a few of you to cover us from behind so no walkers sneak up as well." Rick continued.

Daryl nodded, draining the rest of his cup of coffee.

"Aight." He said.

"We'll head out before dark and make our way through the woods, then wait for nighttime." Rick said,

Everyone nodded, praying this worked.

########################################################################

The door to Carol's room opened quickly, catching Carol offguard, as Andrea snuck in and closed it behind her.

"You scared me." Carol said quietly, her hand going to her chest.

"Sorry. I don't have much time." Andrea whispered, "It'll be easier for me to get that flashdrive than you. He either keeps it in his desk or Milton's got it.

"No, Andrea. It's too dangerous." Carol stated, worried that her friend would get hurt.

"Well its dangerous for either of us, but less so for me. I have access to both of them." Andrea reasoned with her.

Carol reached for Andrea to give her a hug.

"Thank you." Carol said, her eyes shone with gratitude. She wasn't sure how she was going to pull this off and Andrea being here was an answer to her prayers.

"I've gotta go, but just be ready." Andrea said, as she peeked out into the hallway, before ducking out and closing the door behind her.

Carol was worried.

She had figured out how she was going to get to the spot where Rick said he'd leave a message and she knew it had to be tonight. She needed to let them know that Andrea was inside as well but she now had to figure out how to get a message to them.

Chewing on her lip, Carol began to brainstorm.

################################################################################

Daryl was loading up gear into the truck when Rick and others came out. Katelyn stood by watching, still angry that he wouldn't let her go, but she had a plan.

"Let's get rollin'!" Daryl yelled to the others, "We don't got all day!"

He looked over at Katelyn. He could tell she was worried and upset that he wouldn't let her come, but he felt much better knowing she was here. Walking over to her, he motioned for her to give him a hug. For a minute, he thought she was going to be stubborn about it, but then she acquiesced and put her arms around him.

"I know yer mad, but I love you." Daryl said. "I can't be thinking about you while I'm worried about keeping them alive. You distract me." He winked at her and she couldn't help but smile.

"Please be careful." She whispered, putting her head on his shoulder.

Daryl smiled.

"I will. I'm too ornery to die." He told her, earning his a playful smack on the arm.

Pulling away, he kissed her quickly, then turned to get behind the wheel of the truck. Sticking his head out the window, he yelled back at her; "See ya tonight!", but he didn't see her there.

Shaking his head, he started up the engine and followed the others out of the prison.


	11. Chapter 11

Katelyn thought her teeth would rattle out of her head as Daryl sped along the gravel road that led to the forest behind Woodbury. Hiding in the bed of the truck, she lay flat against the metal bottom. She knew Daryl would be pissed when he found her but she wasn't about to let him possibly face her father without being there.

The truck bounded along the road until they came to a perfect spot to leave the vehicles. Daryl turned off the ignition and opened the car door. Rick, Michonne, Maggie, and Glenn came over, with Tyreese coming up behind them.

"All right, so we'll make our way through the woods before dark. It'll be a lot easier that w…" Rick's word dropped at the end as he saw Katelyn stand up in the back of the truck.

"What?" Daryl asked, looking confusedly at Rick.

It wasn't until Glenn saw and started messing with his hat nervously while Maggie dug her toe in the ground that Daryl knew something was wrong and turned around.

Panic, masked by anger swept through him when he saw her.

"God dammit, Katelyn!" He yelled, storming over to the truck as she climbed down.

Katelyn felt badly for upsetting him, but she was afraid that if he wasn't there to watch his back, something bad would happen. She already almost lost him once and she wasn't about to lose him again.

Daryl was too mad to even form coherent words and degenerated into a rant of curse words while he stormed around getting his weapons ready. Glaring at her every other second as he did so.

Katelyn sighed and looked sheepishly at Rick and the others. Glenn just shook his head and Maggie was smirking. She admired Katelyn's courage. Tyreese was the one who took pity on her and brought her a large machete to replace her knife and a gun.

Rick walked over to Daryl who was visibly upset and put his hand on his arm.

"She's already here. Nothin' we can do 'bout that. Let's just be careful." He whispered, trying to calm Daryl down.

"If walkers don't' kill her, I'm gonna." Daryl hissed, slamming the truck door shut.

"She's stubborn and she cares about you. She's got a stake in this, you know." Rick tried to explain, but Daryl wasn't hearing any of it.

He was downright pissed off.

Katelyn watched Daryl, feeling more and more guilty as time went by. He started walking into the woods up ahead of everyone and she began doubting herself. She'd expected him to be angry but not like this. Maggie walked up next to her to keep her company.

"He'll get over it." Maggie whispered, "He's just scared, that's all."

Katelyn turned to look at Maggie with a forlorn expression and Maggie fell silent.

The trip through the woods was quiet.

Reaching the stream, the group decided to take a break and grab some water. Daryl still hadn't said a word to anyone and Katelyn was silent as well. Daryl stayed up ahead, "scouting" but anyone who was watching him could tell he had one eye on Katelyn the whole time. He might be mad, but he was still watching out for her.

The group moved on after twenty minutes and it started to get later in the day. Daryl, who was still up ahead, suddenly crouched, holding up his hand to stop. Cocking her head to the side, Katelyn listened. It took her a second to figure out what it was, but the distinct groaning was obvious.

Walkers.

Daryl pointed up ahead and Rick and Michonne hurried forward. As they did, he dropped back to a support position with his crossbow and angled himself so he could see Katelyn the whole time. Moving slowly, the group came upon the source of the noise and were surprised.

The walker was caught in a leghold trap that had been set out.

Daryl crouched, surveying the terrain which formed a natural funnel into this area but before he could warn everyone, he heard a yelp from Katelyn and the distinct sound of the metal jaws of a trap, slamming shut.

Daryl burst across the way, seeing Katelyn lying on the ground. Panicked, he frantically began assessing how bad the injury was and didn't even realize that both of Katelyn's legs were raised in the air, away from the trap. The trap had been sprung, luckily by a twig that had gotten tangled in Katelyn's legs and not her own leg because it would have snapped it in half.

"Jesus Christ!" Daryl hissed, trying to get ahold of his breathing now that he realized it wasn't Katelyn caught in the trap.

Katelyn was still startled. She heard the sound and immediately fell backward, avoiding the serrated edges of the spring trap. Frightened, her eyes wide, she looked at Daryl who was shaking his head in dismay.

"Are you all right?" He bit out, making sure that she was unharmed before letting his anger at her presence out.

Katelyn merely nodded, too afraid to utter a word at this point. She could see the look on his face and knew that anything she said was going to set him off.

Daryl took a second to calm himself. He knew he was furious and was really struggling with controlling his temper at the moment.

She had been told to stay behind and now she almost got her leg ripped off by booby traps left by her father.

He was not in a good mood.

Grabbing her arm, he nearly raised her off the ground entirely as he stood her up to make sure.

Katelyn was startled when he grabbed her arm and wasn't sure what to expect from him. He'd never been this mad at her before.

"You walk, where I walk. Nowhere else." He told her through gritted teeth.

Katelyn nodded.

Maggie pursed her lips and Glenn watched with wide eyes. No one wanted to get in the way of Daryl's temper at the moment.

"The traps are spread out and hidden all over. I've set three off so far." Michonne said, pointing in the areas she had located them.

Daryl nodded, pulling Katelyn behind him.

Daryl grabbed a long branch and ripped the leaves off of it, creating a makeshift walking stick, before proceeding forward.

Katelyn looked at Rick with wide, startled eyes, but all Rick could do was nod at her.

Daryl began to move, waving the stick on the ground in front of them like a blind man walking in the city.

When Katelyn didn't move fast enough, he jerked her forward with the hand he was holding her with. He must have felt bad though because he glanced behind him to make sure she was walking, before moving forward.

Daryl set off more than ten traps, all of which could have seriously injured the entire group. Michonne swept the area about 10 feet in front of him and Glenn marked trees to show the way in case they had to flee quickly.

Katelyn couldn't take it anymore and stopped dead in her tracks.

Daryl hadn't noticed until the jerk on his arm and then he turned immediately around to stare at her.

Glaring, he cast her he meanest look he could, but she refused to budge.

Watching the two of them was like watching a show down in the wild west, with the two facing off against each other, staring hard into each other's eyes and waiting for the other one to move.

But neither did.

"You're being ridiculous." Katelyn finally said.

Daryl's eyes flew wide as lightning seemed to hit them. Stomping over to Katelyn, he towered over her, glaring down into her eyes.

"I'm being ridiculous?" He demanded, his nostrils flaring.

"Yes." She hissed.

"You were specifically told to stay at the prison." He stated through gritted teeth.

"I'm not a dog!" She nearly shouted, earning her a "Shhhh" from him.

Daryl's eye was twitching and he let his head fall backwards in frustration.

"I'm not a damn burden! I can help you. Especially when it has to do with Woodbury!" She continued, rushing to defend her rash decision.

"No one's saying you're not. All I said was that it was too dangerous!" Daryl spat back.

"Well then it's too dangerous for you to be on without me!" She concluded.

"Dammit, Katelyn!" He growled before turning his back on her with his hands on his hips. He was trying to calm down but he could feel the panic. It had been far too close for comfort last time and he didn't want her dealing with her father if she didn't have to.

"She's here now, Daryl. Not much we can do. Let's just keep moving and Katelyn will be cover for Michonne." Rick tried to reason with the arguing lovers.

Daryl just stared at her for a minute before throwing up his hands.

"Fine." He grated out.

"Fine." She grated out too.

Rick rolled his eyes heavenward.

_Fine,_ Rick throught, before heading further into the woods.


	12. Chapter 12

Carol and Andrea sat on the couch inside of The Governor's apartments. Each had a glass of whiskey on the rocks they were sipping on. Andrea had poured half of the bottle out already to give the impression that they'd been drinking for a while and both were telling each other stories that made the other laugh, to give the impression of two good friends sharing good times.

The Governor arrived as expected, caught off guard by the sound of giggling in the other room. Frowning with confusion, he walked slowly into the living room to find the two women doubled over with laughter and a genuine smile spread across his face. He had been suspicious all day, with a feeling in his gut that something was off, but finding these two like this, through off his paranoia.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Phillip asked smoothly, grinning at how silly the two of them were acting.

Both women looked up, surprised, and burst out laughing again.

Andrea stood to pour him a drink but he waved her off.

"No, no. I'm good. You two enjoy yourselves." He said, putting his arms around Andrea possessively.

Carol stood, pretending that she wanted to leave them alone. The plan was for Andrea to keep the Governor occupied while Carol slipped out to retrieve the message that Rick and the others were supposed to leave her. Earlier, Andrea had snuck a bow and arrow out of the armory for Carol as well, so she could shoot them a message back. It would be a blind shot in the dark. Hopefully, they would find it.

"No. Don't leave on my account." Phillip said to Carol, smiling warmly at her.

Phillip had a hard time maintaining his paranoia with this new friend of Andreas. She was very unassuming and shy, giving her a harmless energy about her, even vulnerable. Aaron had taken to her right away and always acted chivalrously around her. Even Merle was…gentle, at least as gentle as Merle could be.

All in all, he liked her.

"No. I've already had my fill tonight. I should go to bed before I end up on the floor. Thank you, though. You're very kind." Carol smiled at him, making sure that her eyes didn't make contact for very long with him.

Andrea got up to follow her to the door, opening it, and leaning over to give Carol a hug.

"Thanks. It's been a while since I've laughed like that." Andrea said.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Carol replied, waving one last time at the Governor who held his hand up in return.

With that, Carol walked out the door, meandering her way lazily down the sidewalk, appearing to be on an evening stroll. Humming to herself, she tried very hard to seem casual and when she got to the end of the sidewalk near her building, she looked around to make sure no one was looking, before she ducked around the back and into the alley. Rushing to the end of the alley, she opened the garbage dumpster and pulled the rope and bow and arrows out of it, slinging it over her shoulder. Climbing awkwardly on top of the dumpster, she jumped to grab the wall, latching onto the top. Struggling to pull herself up, she swung her legs over to push off the brick of the building in order to boost her onto the ledge. From there, she could grab the fire escape ladder and began to climb.

Reaching the top, she wrapped her arm around the rung and pulled herself on top. Keeping low so the men on the wall wouldn't see her, she scurried to the forest-facing edge of the building. Notching the arrow that had the message rubberbanded to the sheaf, she gritted her teeth and pulled the string back for all she was worth. All she had to do was hit the ground with it.

Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly as Andrea taught her, and released her fingers.

_Thud._ The arrow hit the ground in front of the forest.

Now, she had to retrieve the message they left in the bushes below the wall she had just climbed.

Climbing slowly back down the ladder, she grabbed the rope. Tying it to the ladder, she tossed the other end over the wall and began to lower herself.

The hard part would be climbing back up.

Her feet hit the ground quietly and she rushed to the bushes but nothing was there.

_Oh no,_ she thought to herself,_ Something was wrong._

Panic began to overwhelm her and her breathing became quickened. She began shaking with fear and it took all of her courage not to bolt. Slowing her breathing down, she allowed herself to think about Sophia. She thought about if Sophia was here and in danger, what would she be willing to do. This mission could save all of the surviving little girls in the world.

This would be her way to honor the child she lost.

Steeling herself, she crouched behind the bushes and waited.

###############################################################################

Michonne ducked low, bolting across the open expanse between the forest and Woodbury's back wall. Daryl stood behind the treeline, covering her in case one of the guards spotted her. He got down low and began moving across the ground to continue to cover her.

Michonne moved fast, darting quickly the moment the guard turned to walk the other way. Then, she saw something fly over her head and dropped to the ground, just as a guard turned to look that way.

Michonne watched, like a predator's last intense gaze before striking, without moving, without a sound. Her breathing shallow and slow, she waited, peeking behind her as she saw a slight amount of movement behind her.

##############################################################################

Daryl heard the _thud_ on the ground and darted behind the tree, not knowing what it was. Poking his head out from behind the tree, he saw an arrow stuck in the ground and crouched low.

Something was on it.

Reaching out his hand, he grabbed the arrow, pulling it toward him. He immediately saw the paper wrapped around the sheaf and pulled it out. Not wanting to leave Michonne without cover, he motioned for Rick who was just behind him with the sniper rifle.

"What is it?" Rick whispered, moving closer to Daryl.

"It's a note." Daryl said, handing it to him.

Rick turned his back to the town and pulled out his mini-light. Opening up his jacket to cover the glow, he shined it on the note.

"Shit!" He growled, almost too loudly.

Daryl hurried over to him.

"What?" he asked.

"Andrea's alive." Rick said.

"Is that bad?" Daryl asked, arching an eyebrow at him. He didn't especially like Andrea, she did shoot him after all, but he didn't hate her.

"No, but she's inside Woodbury. With the Governor." Rick said, "She's gonna try to get the flash drive but Carol and her are gonna have to escape together once they have it."

Daryl shook his head, letting out a deep sigh.

"This just keeps getting more and more complicated." He muttered, turning back to cover Michonne.

################################################################################

Carol was watching the open area and thought she saw a figure moving her way. She was about to motion when one of the guards on the wall shined a huge floodlight into the open area, and all hell broke loose.

Michonne, who had been running in a full crouch, instantly bolted. Turning back toward the forest, she zigzagged in order to avoid getting shot.

Gunfire broke out, spraying the area and the town of Woodbury went on full alert.

Carol was in trouble.

Crouched in the bushes along the bottom of the outer wall, she was caught between the guards who were going to jump down on the lower wall and see her rope any minute now.

From the treeline, Daryl had grabbed his rifle the moment he saw the light flash and took a shot at one of the guards, hitting him in the shoulder and knocking him off the wall.

Carol heard the sound of the guard's body hit the ground and knew she had to go now if she was going to get back inside the wall.

Waiting for the next spray of gunfire, she grabbed the rope and began climbing. The burst of adrenaline fueling her strength, she scaled the wall. Reaching the top, she pulled the rope with her, throwing it and the bow and arrow back into the dumpster. Just as she was about to bolt, guards turned the corner and came running down the alley.

The only place left for her to go, was into the dumpster as well.

Carol huddled in the garbage, trying to cover herself in the cardboard that lay within, listening to the sounds of guards jumping on top of it. She knew she was in trouble. She knew that she'd have to stay inside the dumpster until the fight was over and then somehow make it back to her room without anyone knowing.

For now, there was nothing she could do but listen…and wait.


	13. Chapter 13

Rick and Daryl shot their weapons in a full spray of suppression fire along the wall in order to give Michonne cover. Racing back to the trees, they knew they needed to get out of there. Not only would they be pursued by the Governor's men, but the walkers in the area would be drawn to the noise.

"Come on! Come on!" Daryl yelled, grabbing Michonne to help her as she nearly fell into the tree.

"You okay?" He asked her hurriedly.

"Yeah." She muttered.

"Let's get the hell out of here." Daryl snapped, stalking back toward where Katelyn stood, watching their backs.

"What about Carol?" Katelyn asked, worried that she would get caught in the firefight.

"Didn't see her. Nothing we can do now." Daryl said, tugging her along with him as they retreated into the woods.

"We need to go around this area. Let the walkers be drawn here and his men converge and follow a straight path." Daryl told Rick who had just jogged over to him.

"If they find the cars though, we're screwed." Rick countered.

"All right, but we gotta move fast. Try not to use our guns now." Daryl replied.

"You lead." Rick said, nodding at Daryl.

"Kate, you hold onto my shirt and follow right behind me." Daryl said quietly, looking her in the eye so she knew he was serious.

He could tell she was scared but she wouldn't admit it for anything after their earlier exchange.

Darting into the forest, the group headed back toward the road, hoping they didn't find any walkers along the way.

#################################################################################

It was all Andrea could do not to vomit as she pretended to make love to Phillip. She forced herself not to think about the things Carol told her about him. Closing her eyes, she pretended it was someone else.

She didn't have to pretend long when they were both interrupted by a series of gunfire.

"What the hell is that?" Andrea sat upright, grabbing her gun off the nightstand and her pants from the floor.

"Gunshots." Phillip answered, grabbing his trousers from the chair and sliding into them quickly.

"Stay here." He demanded, but Andrea snorted in derision.

"Not a chance in hell." She replied, buttoning her blouse as she followed him out the door.

Stepping out into the street, the Governor saw his men racing for the back of the town. Merle was rushing toward them with news.

"Back wall, Gov'na." Merle drawled.

"Don't take the men off the other walls. Get everyone who's not on duty. It could be a diversion." Phillip ordered.

Merle nodded, leaving to go deliver his orders.

Andrea followed the Governor to the back wall where the men were converging. Others were running to reinforce the other walls. Turning down the alley, they climbed on top of the dumpster to peer over the ledge. Lights were now shining on the open space and into the forest but she couldn't see anything anymore.

They were gone.

But where was Carol?

Chewing on her lip nervously, Andrea thought she heard something bang against the dumpster and she froze. Stomping her foot down on the lid, it went silent.

_Shit!_ She thought, _Carol was inside._

The Governor climbed on top of the wall and joined his men.

"Stay there!" He ordered her.

This time, she listened.

Waiting until he wasn't looking, Andrea opened the lid slightly and whispered inside.

"Carol, go. Quickly!" She breathed loudly.

She saw Carol's head pop out and reached her hand in to help her.

Pulling her out, she had to shove her behind the dumpster when two more guards came running down the alleyway. Smiling at them, she waited until they were on top of the wall before motioning for Carol to run.

"Go!" She hissed, as Carol ran to the end of the alley and peeked around the corner.

Dodging a group of guards running across the main street, Carol bolted into her building and locked herself inside her room.

For now, she was safe.

##########################################################################

Keeping in mind the trap field they set up, Daryl moved the group out and around the area. Slowing down a bit, he skirted the tail of a small ravine before sliding down the embankment and into the stream. Turning to help Katelyn down, he paused to wait for Rick and the others.

"Can we just follow the stream down to the lower area?" Maggie asked, breathlessly running up to them.

"Yeah, but that takes us back across their paths." Daryl answered.

"Let's keep going then." Rick suggested, before the whole group heard the sounds of many footsteps coming toward them.

"Shit! Walkers!" Daryl growled, grabbing Katelyn's hand to pull her behind him.

Looking up, he saw a large group coming toward them, blocking their escape path. If they turned back, they would run right into the Governor's men. However, they could lead them that way and then branch off so the guards from Woodbury would run right into the walkers.

"Follow me!" Daryl called, and began jogging quickly enough to get away from the walkers but slowly enough that they could follow them.

"What exactly is your plan here?" Glenn asked, trotting alongside of Daryl and Katelyn.

"We're gonna lead the walkers right into the Woodbury guards." Daryl said.

"Good plan." Glenn shrugged, glancing behind him to see how far the walkers were.

"Keep making enough noise for them to hear us." Daryl called out to the group behind him.

Michonne darted out a ways from the group. She wanted to make sure that someone could take the walkers out in case the plan didn't work out the way Daryl wanted. Rick nodded when she looked back at him, giving her the go ahead.

"Michonne's taking our flank…just in case." Rick explained to Daryl.

"No faith?" Daryl snorted.

"I got plenty of faith. I also know how unlucky we can be." Rick retorted.

Daryl grunted, smiling mirthlessly.

_True enough_, he thought.

They ran for a good five minutes before they saw the lights of the searchers up ahead. Daryl halted and motioned for everyone to sprint straight sideways and let the two groups collide. Tugging Katelyn's hand, they ducked low and ran and quickly as they could, leaping over objects and dodging fallen logs.

They didn't see the hole in the ground until Katelyn stepped in it and fell.

Shrieking uncontrollably, Katelyn went down, causing Daryl to stop abruptly.

Squatting down next to her, he saw that she was laying on her back holding her ankle, and rolling around. Katelyn grimaced as shooting pain raced through her ankle, but she wasn't about to admit defeat.

"You all right?" Daryl asked, reaching for her leg.

Katelyn put it down immediately, ignoring the inferno she could feel on the outside of her ankle joint. She knew it was injured, but she couldn't do anything about it right now.

"Just twisted it. Help me up." She stated with more spunk than she felt.

Gingerly putting it on the ground, she tried to act like it was fine. It must have been because it was dark, because Daryl didn't seem to notice. He merely nodded and kept moving. Katelyn was gritting her teeth with each step as shooting pain pounded her leg like a bullet.

Tears sprang to her eyes as they ran, but she pushed them back. He was already furious with her for coming, so she refused to be a burden to him at this point. Pushing herself, she was determined to keep up but about two minutes later, she couldn't hold out anymore and tugged back on Daryl's hand. Bending over, she pretended that she was winded.

"We gotta keep going." Daryl said.

" We gotta slow down for a minute." She kept bending over so he wouldn't see the sheen of tears in her eyes. At this point, she was bawling, tears pouring down her face as her ankle throbbed fiercely.

"We can slow down a bit but we gotta keep moving." He answered.

Katelyn nodded, still avoiding looking at Daryl. Rick and the others arrived, turning his attention away from her.

"Listen." Michonne said, moving toward the group.

They could hear the screams of the Woodbury group that had followed them, easing all of the tension. Taking deep breaths, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and started moving toward the cars again.

"You're play worked." Rick said, impressed with his thinking.

"This time." Daryl retorted, smirking without humor.

They made their way to the cars and climbed in, grateful to have gotten away safely.


	14. Chapter 14

Katelyn stared out the window the whole way in the truck. No one said a word to each other and she was glad because she was in too much pain to carry on a conversation. Upon arriving, Daryl slammed out of the truck, coming around to her side and opened the door. Taking her arm, he pulled her out of the truck. Unfortunately, her feet didn't move as fast as his and she was forced to jump on her bad ankle. Landing on it, she crumpled immediately, startling Daryl who stopped abruptly.

Still trying to play off the whole thing, Katelyn tried to stand but now Daryl was alert and watching her like a hawk. Standing up, she wasn't leaning any weight on it, and Daryl's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"You wanna tell me what's wrong or are you gonna make me guess?" Daryl asked in a deceptively calm voice.

Katelyn looked up at him and tried to blink back tears, but Daryl saw them.

"What the hell?" Daryl swore, trying to figure out what was going on.

Katelyn shook her head when Daryl started coming toward her, putting out her arms to stop him.

"What is wrong with your leg?" He asked, pointing at her leg as he reached in to grab it, causing Katelyn to lose her balance and fall backwards.

Daryl moved quickly however, and grabbed her before she fell, lowering her to the ground slowly. Katelyn chewed on her lip when Daryl took her leg and pulled up her jeans. Katelyn cried out and grabbed his arm the minute he began to untie her shoe and Daryl knew she was injured.

Dropping his head down to stare at the ground, Daryl put his hands on his hips and tried to gather a semblance of patience. Leaning down, he slid his arms under her knees and shoulders, picking her up. Katelyn didn't say a word as he walked inside.

Everyone turned to look at them as he walked into the makeshift medical room and sat her down on the table. Lifting her leg gently, he starting tugging at the laces again. Katellyn sucked in her breath, letting it out slowly, trying to breathe through the pain.

"You wanna tell me now?" Daryl asked, irritated that he was irritated more than anything, and upset that she waited this long to say anything. Not that she had actually said anything.

"I just twisted it." Katelyn said, trying to minimize the situation. She completely ignored Daryl's wishes for her to stay and because of it, she ended up injured which could have hurt the group. She felt like an ass.

Daryl nodded, slowly removing the shoe. Running his hands along her upper ankle, he slid his fingers under the sock to roll it down. Katelyn sucked in her breath sharply and Daryl's eyes flew up to her face. Her face lost its color almost immediately. Daryl was furious but more because he was worried.

"Lay down." He said quietly, trying to keep his voice calm.

Katelyn swallowed, took a deep breath and laid back.

Daryl pulled the rest of the sock off.

"Shit Katelyn!" He yelled, losing all of his calm and patient promises.

Her ankle was huge and black and blue with purple blotches all over it.

"Hershel!" Daryl yelled, stepping back with his hands on his hips, pacing in front of her.

He didn't know what made him more upset; that she had stubbornly refused to stay, or that she was hurt now because of it.

"Son of a bitch!" Daryl muttered under his breath, walking over to the medical supplies to look for an ice pack.

Finding one, he squeezed it until it popped and then shook it. Walking back over to Katelyn, he glanced at her pale face and sighed.

He didn't like the worry that came with love, that was for sure.

Turning her leg over onto its side so it was comfortable, he grabbed a pillow and placed it under her leg for support. Laying the ice pack on her ankle, he put both hands on the table and sighed before looking at Katelyn again.

"When you stepped in the hole?" He asked.

Katelyn nodded.

"So you've been walking on that for three hours?" He asked, knowing he wasn't going to like the answer. He just didn't like the thought of her suffering for all that time and him not knowing about it.

Katelyn didn't say anything.

Hershel came in, using his crutch to walk. Coming to stand at the end of the table, he took one look at her ankle and sighed.

"She's been walking on the damn thing for hours." Daryl stated, looking for some reinforcement to the "crazy" that was Katelyn.

Hershel shook his head.

"Well… I'd say it looks like a nasty sprain but we could x-ray it to make sure." Hershel said, looking at Katelyn.

Daryl closed his eyes and shook his head. His anger left him as he confronted the fact that he couldn't keep her locked up in a tower. She was living in the same world he was and her chance of survival improved greatly the more she knew how to take care of herself.

As soon as her ankle was better, he was determined to teach her a few things...like how to not step in a damn hole!

Walking over to the head of the table, he brushed her hair back from her face and bent down. Turning her face, she looked up at him pathetically.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

Leaning in, he pressed his forehead against hers and smirked.

"You are the biggest pain in the ass ever, but that's not going to change how I feel about you." Daryl whispered back, "However, if you get hurt and don't tell me again, I'm gonna kick your ass."

Katelyn attempted to smirk, but it looked more like a grimace.

"Come on. Let's take you down to the damn x-ray machine." Daryl said, lifting her off the table.

Hershel followed them.

#############################################################################

The Governor was furious. Those sons of bitches had gotten away again. He wasn't sure why they'd come; He assumed they were there to raid the town, but it was suspicious. The fact that it happened after Andrea's "friend" arrived, made him more suspicious. Moving quickly toward her apartment, he knocked on the door. He heard a yelp from inside and decided to kick the door in.

_Slam!_

Carol was hiding behind the bed. She didn't have to act scared because she was scared.

Surprised that he'd found her here, he didn't know what to make of the cringing figure on the floor who looked up at him fearfully.

Shaking, Carol stood.

"Is everything all right?" Phillip drawled, looking suspiciously around the room.

"I heard the gunshots." Carol rambled.

Phillip sighed. He had expected duplicitous behavior, not a truly frightened woman. His suspicion was allayed.

"There were, but everything's allright." He assured her, "Why don't you stay with Andrea and I for tonight. I've got a guest bedroom in my apartment."

Carol blinked rapidly, her fear causing her to be quiet, making Phillip actually feel badly for the woman. She was just what Andrea described.

"I'm all right. Just shaken. The last time there were that many gunshots…" She trailed off, thinking of when the herd overran the farm.

"Well, you're safe here. I give you my word." The Governor guaranteed, offering comfort to the woman who stood before him.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"I'll send Andrea to you in a little bit. To make sure you're okay." Phillip told her, before backing out of the room.

Carol collapsed on her bed in relief.


	15. Chapter 15

Katelyn lay staring at the ceiling. Daryl walked in so quietly that she didn't even hear him. It wasn't until he crawled onto her bed that she noticed and jumped sky high.

"You scared the crap out of me!" She squealed.

Daryl smirked, inching his way up from her feet to her lips.

"You're going to kiss me, and then we're going to have a conversation." Daryl said matter of factly.

Katelyn couldn't help but smile before kissing him.

"Go ahead. You can yell at me. It was stupid and I could've gotten everyone killed." Katelyn said, anticipating the lecture that was coming.

"Uh-huh" Daryl said, nibbling on her neck, "And…"

"I'm sorry. I should've listened to you." She continued but her thoughts trailed off as he nibbled on her ear.

"And…" Now he was running his tongue along her ear, sending shivers through her.

"Um…I…," she tried to complete the sentence but couldn't.

"I was right." Daryl paused as he leaned down until his nose was touching hers.

"Yes you were." Katelyn agreed quietly, feeling stupid about her antics. Looking down at her foot which lay wrapped in a splint propped up on a pillow, she thought about how ridiculous she'd been.

Daryl rolled onto his side.

"How's it feeling?" He asked, looking at her profile and smiling.

Turning her head to look at him, she replied, "It feels good now that I'm off of it."

"Good." Daryl stated, before continuing, "When it's better, you and I are gonna work on your hand to hand combat and shooting. You were right about one thing; I can't leave you behind everytime. At this rate, you'll fall off a ladder or something while I'm not around."

Katelyn stuck her tongue out at him.

"Tell me it's not true." Daryl challenged, grinning at her.

"You know, I managed to make it to twenty years without having any mishaps." She retorted.

"Well you must be making up for those years then cuz you haven't done anything but since I met ya." Daryl replied, earning him a playful smack.

"Hungry?" He asked, changing the subject when his stomach growled.

"Yeah, a little." Katelyn said.

"Climb on. I'll give you a piggy back ride." He said, scooting over to the edge of the bed so she could climb on his back.

"You're kidding?" She asked.

"Nope." He countered.

"Okay." She said, before climbing onto his back and shrieking when he took off running.

#####################################################################################

Carol spent the night in the Governor's apartment but slept very little, terrified that he was somehow tricking her. When the knock on her door came, she was nervous all over again, but then she heard Andrea's voice at the door. Hurrying to open it, she looked relieved.

"You hungry?" She asked, smiling at Carol.

"Sure." Carol replied, looking over Andrea's shoulder to see if Phillip was in the living room.

"Come on." Andrea motioned, leading her into the kitchen where Phillip was standing in front of the stove, stirring something.

"How'd you sleep?" He drawled.

"Fine. Well, better than I would have if I'd stayed in my place." She replied, smiling shyly at him, "Thank you."

"It's our pleasure." He replied, scooping eggs onto her plate.

"What happened last night?" Carol asked innocently.

"Well, sometimes raiders attack, looking to take what we have." He explained, lying smoothly enough that it set Andrea's teeth on edge.

"I'm sorry." Carol said quietly. It was easy to feel sympathy for the townspeople. They seemed like good folk caught in a bad situation and she didn't want to see them hurt.

Phillip actually smiled at Carol's sweetness.

"It's not anything you need to worry about. You're safe here." He assured her, genuinely coming to like Andrea's friend.

"Dig in girls. Don't wait on my account. I've gotta run…meeting with the boys this morning to tighten defenses." He said, leaning down to kiss Andrea on the cheek.

"Do you need me?" Andrea asked, hoping that he'd say no.

"Nah. You two spend some time together." He replied, as he grabbed his gun and slid it into his holster.

"See you in a bit." Andrea smiled, watching him leave, before turning quickly to Carol.

"I'm gonna search his desk. See if the flash drive is in there. We don't have a lot of time and this is gonna get ugly with Rick and those guys so lets move." Andrea shoved the eggs into her mouth and scraped the plates, washing them up really fast.

Moving down the hallway, she opened the door that she was never allowed to, and walked into the office.

"You stand guard. If you hear the door, call out to me." Andrea said before slipping inside.

Carol prayed that she would find it.

Andrea went straight to his desk, searching for the key. Looking around the room, she saw a picture of his daughter and grabbed it, turning it around to discover his blatant hiding place.

Rushing over to the desk, she used it to open the drawer and began rummaging through the contents. Desperate, she dug through each drawer but found nothing.

"Shit." She muttered, realizing that the most likely place for it was with Milton.

Hurrying over to the picture, she put the key back and left.

"What now?" Carol asked.

"We sneak into Milton's lab." Andrea said, grabbing the door to leave with Carol.

###########################################################################

Sitting around the table with the others, Katelyn listened to them talk. Rick, Michonne, Daryl, and Tyreese were talking about how to get Carol and Andrea out after the debacle.

"There's no way to know when they get it now. Once they steal it, they're gonna have to get out on their own." Michonne stated.

"Carol's screwed. She can't defend herself if they have to fight their way through the woods." Daryl said, shaking his head. He didn't like this situation at all.

"What do you propose to do?" Tyreese asked Daryl.

"I don't know. There's gotta be a way to get a message to them again to let them know when we'll be there." Daryl said.

"Andrea will move fast. I'll bet she'll have it within the next couple of days." Rick said, thinking about how Andrea works.

"Yeah, she's reckless as hell. She's just as likely to get them both killed." Daryl said, snorting.

"Well, let's hope she's just reckless enough to get it and get the hell out of there." Tyreese said.

"I can get them out." Michonne said quietly.

"You just wanna a shot at the Governor." Rick said, irritated with her.

"Yeah, and that gives me a perfect opportunity. In the resulting chaos, it'll be easy to get them out." She added.

"I'm goin'." Daryl explained, "That's my brother in there too."

"And what if you have to face him?" Rick asked quietly.

"I'll figure it out, but right now, I know one thing about my brother; he don't like workin' for no one so if he's in there, its cuz he thinks he can get somethin' out of it. The minute it don't work out, he's gone." Daryl stated.

"But he can't come back here, Daryl. I don't trust him. He's already hurt Glenn." Rick said.

Daryl was quiet, looking down at the ground. A part of him felt ashamed and the other half felt sad. This was his brother after all.

He felt Katelyn's hand squeeze his knee reassuringly.

"We all got family that we're not real proud of. We love 'em, but we can't live with 'em. I'll give him supplies and send 'im on his way." Daryl said, looking up at Rick.

Rick smiled sadly.


	16. Chapter 16

Carol and Andrea strolled through the town, arm in arm, like lifelong friends. Waiting until they were sure that no one was really looking, they entered the back yard area that led to Milton's laboratory. They could hear the sounds of gnashing and clawing and knew that the men had recently captured walkers. Avoiding the area, they skirted around the edge, crossing the yard and darting into Milton's lab.

Andrea entered first, motioning for Carol to remain hidden while she looked for Milton. Sliding behind a door, Carol waited while Andrea walked inside like she needed to talk to Milton.

Milton had been working on the latest test subject. The skull of the walker was cut open. It was moving and strapped to a table within the lab. Electrodes were shoved into the soft tissue of the brain and Milton was looking at the screen of his computer.

He looked like Dr. Frankenstein.

Looking up, Milton, paused to smile at Andrea, his hands suddenly damp with nervousness. She was the prettiest woman he'd seen in a long time and secretly, he wanted her, but was too afraid of the Governor to ever act on it. He watched her walk across the room and looked down for fear that she might notice his appraisal.

"Hey Milton." Andrea said casually.

"Good morning." Milton responded, wiping his hands on his pants.

"What are you working on?" Andrea asked, curious to see what new gruesome experiment he was running.

"I'm trying to detect the amount of electrical energy output of a walker brain compared to a living human's." He started to explain, but stopped when he realized she was probably bored with his explanation.

"Why?" She asked.

"The better I understand them, the easier they are to defeat. Besides, if I ever hope to find a cure or inoculation for this, I have to know how it works." Milton rationalized.

"Hmm. You know, when I was at the CDC, we watched the process of transformation using their software, off of a live test subject who had been bit." Andrea said, hoping for a reaction.

"You're kidding me!" He was so excited that he moved around the table to stand in front of her, his eyes bulging out of his head like an excited kid.

"Nope. The doctor that was there had a patient that donated themselves to him upon their being bit in hopes of helping him find a cure. He said that they were close to one before all hell broke loose." Andrea offered.

Milton licked his lips nervously, his eyes darting toward his computer.

"Can I show you something?" He said in hushed tones. It was obvious that he was eager to share his knowledge and Andrea thought, _Bingo._

"Sure." She said, acting as if she didn't know what he was about to show her.

Milton opened his desk drawer and pulled out the flash drive marked with the CDC insignia. Andrea's eyes narrowed, her mind racing with possibilities. Inserting it into the drive, Milton pulled up the research that Andrea was after.

It was hard for Andrea to not just knock him out, grab Carol and bolt, but she knew how far the prison was from here and knew they'd likely never make it without help, so she took a deep breath. She knew where it was now.

"Fascinating." Andrea breathed, trying to act impressed.

"The Governor found this and brought it to me. I've been trying to decipher all of the information in here but I don't have the equipment to do much more with it. I need a fully functioning lab." He explained.

"Really?" She said, coming up with a plan in her mind.

"Yes. Unfortunately, I'm working with medieval tools here." He joked.

"What if I told you that I knew where something like that could be found?" Andrea teased, hoping he'd take the bait.

"You're kidding me?" Milton asked breathlessly.

"Nope, but Phillip isn't gonna let you leave here. It's too dangerous." Andrea said conspiratorily.

Milton's breath came in pants as his enthusiasm built. Thoughts were racing through his head. He couldn't leave. The Governor would kill him…the walkers would kill him, but God, he wanted to find the cure. He would be a hero for once in his life.

"What would we have to do?" He asked, leaning in to talk quietly.

"Let me think about it. I'll come up with a plan and let you know tomorrow. This is huge, Milton. You might be able to save everyone." Andrea manipulated the weasley little man's ego so easily that she almost felt bad. It wasn't that he was a bad guy, he was just a coward.

"All right. Keep it quiet for now. I'll get back to you tomorrow." Andrea said, turning to leave.

###############################################################################

Michonne and Daryl stood in the main room while Glenn explained the plan. He had built a miniature layout of Woodbury and marked any intel they knew about based on Michonne's knowledge. This was all based on Andrea having the information by tomorrow.

It was a crap shoot without it.

"I can sneak in and get to Andrea without anyone knowing." Michonne stated.

"But you can't take out the Governor until we know she's got it." Rick said, "Can you do that?"

"Yes." Michonne answered, irritated that he thought she was without self-control.

"The riskiest part of this is yours Daryl. I hope you can trust your brother as much as you think you can." Maggie said, trying not to be bitter about what he'd done to Glenn.

"I can trust Merle to be Merle." Daryl replied.

"I will go in and contact Andrea. If she's got it, you'll all be waiting in the woods for us to escape the compound with Carol. If she doesn't have it, then I'll help her get it and we'll get out of there." Michonne said, restating her plan to make sure they all knew. "Once they're out, I'll go back for the Governor."

"I'll wait until Michonne comes back to go in after Merle. While Michonne is killing the Governor, I'll go for him and bring him out." Daryl said, adding his part in here.

Katelyn closed her eyes, trying to keep the tears from spilling. Her stomach was in knots. This plan was so risky and the thought of Daryl in this kind of danger was making her hands shake.

She felt a hand placed gently on the small of her back and opened her eyes.

Daryl could tell by how quiet she was that she was a twisted up over this. He didn't know if it was because he would be in danger or if it was about her father.

Katelyn scooted closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Rick knew this was the riskiest mission they'd ever been on and hated that he couldn't go in with them to help but he'd need to hold the escape route and Michonne and Daryl were the best suited for this. They had the best chance of getting in and out without detection.

"Remember, this information could change everything. The data is the main priority here." Madeline reminded them, smiling sadly, knowing that they were risking their lives for this.

Daryl nodded.

"I wish I had some encouraging words here, but all I can think of is; May the force be with you." She winked at them, trying to lighten the mood a little bit.

Daryl snorted in amusement.

Even he had gotten that reference.


	17. Chapter 17

"Do we take it and run, or do we get Milton out with us?" Andrea asked Carol quietly, as they sat gazing out at the trees from their picnic spot.

"Can we risk it?" Carol asked, bringing a piece of cantaloupe to her mouth to eat, thinking how she was almost sad to be leaving. It was the first semblance of real life they'd had in a long time.

"Probably not, but once we steal it, we have to go so be ready. Phillip will be out on patrols tonight so we'll grab it and then head out. I've got a pack so we'll have supplies and weapons." Andrea told Carol who looked so scared right now, Andrea didn't know if she could handle it.

"You gonna be okay?" Andrea asked, putting her hand on Carol's arm.

Tears sprang to her eyes but she nodded.

"Yeah. Just scared." Carol said, smiling at Andrea.

"Me too." Andrea replied.

#################################################################################

The group made their way through the forest once again, the route incredibly familiar by now. They knew that Woodbury was low on numbers now due to the group that was killed by the walkers last time, so they were unlikely to be patrolling the forest. Daryl led the way keeping an eye out for traps and walkers alike. Michonne, took the flank, keeping an eye out for strays as they continued on.

Arriving on the Southwestern edge of Woodbury, they decided to try a different way in. There was one area of the town that didn't have guards on the high walls of the "walker yard". Trees stood tall over that area as well which would make it relatively easy to scale. The walkers themselves were kept in the locked shed within the yard, so they shouldn't have any trouble with them.

Daryl knew from what Michonne said, where Merle stayed. The real problem would be finding him there because he was often on duty patrolling. Daryl would be waiting in one of the trees for Michonne to return with Andrea and Carol, then the both of them would be going in to take care of their business.

It was dark soon after they arrived and Daryl and Michonne darted quickly to the backside of the walker yard. Tossing a rope over the treelimb, Daryl began climbing until her reached the branch, then pulled himself onto the limb. Michonne was right behind him. Daryl reached out a hand to help pull her onto the branch, then pulled the rope up behind her.

Michonne pointed to the yard and Daryl nodded, settling onto the branch comfortably to wait. Michonne climbed down until she reached the lowest branch, then lowered herself to the ground within the yard.

Moving her way across the yard, she disappeared into the darkness as Daryl waited.

############################################################################

Andrea waited until Milton left his lab before bolting across the yard and into his workroom. Racing over to the computer desk, she opened the drawer and grabbed the flash drive, slipping it into her pocket. Heading out the door, she checked the yard for guards but found no one and began to move across the way stealthily.

She was nearing the other side when hands reached around her from behind and grabbed her, pulling her back and covering her mouth.

For a second, Andrea thought for sure she was dead, but then she was spun around to face Michonne.

"Shhh." Michonne said, knowing that Andrea was probably still angry over their last meeting.

"I came to get you and Carol out." She whispered.

Andrea took a deep breath. She had been furious with Michonne about blinding Phillip, but after learning what she knew now, she just wanted to get out of here.

"Carol is waiting in her room. Stay here and I'll go get her." Andrea said, nodding at Michonne.

Michonne sighed.

"All right, but hurry. Daryl is waiting to help get you out." She said quietly.

Andrea nodded and started walking toward Carol's room.

Knocking on the door, Andrea waited, looking around for anyone coming.

The door opened.

Carol stood in front of the door with a tight smile on her face.

"Wasn't it nice that Aaron stopped by." Carol said, her eyes wide as she looked at Andrea.

"I didn't mean to interrupt." Andrea said smoothly as Aaron jumped to his feet feeling foolish at getting caught.

Andrea arched an eyebrow at him.

"I, uh…just stopped by. I was just leaving. Carol, it was nice to see you again." He said, sliding by Andrea as he left.

Andrea entered the room and closed the door behind me.

"Awkward." Andrea said, noticing that Carol was shaking.

"No kidding. Why do men have such bad timing?" Carol asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Come on. We've gotta go now. Michonne and Daryl are here and waiting for us." Andrea said, grabbing Carol's hand.

The two slipped out of the building through the back door. They didn't want to risk being stopped by someone in the street. Heading for the "walker yard", they met up with Michonne who rushed them over to the tree.

Daryl was standing on the lower branch reaching out a hand as Michonne and Andrea helped Carol climb.

"Boy am I glad to see you." Carol gushed, feeling incredibly happy to see a friendly face.

"Don't get too excited. We're not out of here yet." Daryl said, hugging her quickly before reaching down for Andrea.

"All right, Michonne, I'll be right back." Daryl said as he began tying the rope around Carol to lower down the back side.

"Once you get down, you run as fast as you can for the treeline. Rick and the others are waiting." Daryl said, as he started to slide the rope with Carol attached, downward.

Carol nodded.

Andrea climbed up to Daryl and nodded as he slipped the rope around her next.

"Keep her safe. We've gotta go for Merle." Daryl said.

Andrea stopped him, putting her hand on his arm.

"That's not a good idea, Daryl." Andrea said.

"I don't gotta choice. He's my brother." Daryl said, finishing the knot.

Andrea sighed and began climbing down.

Once she hit the ground, Andrea slipped it off and looked one last time up at Daryl to smile, before turning and running into the darkness.


	18. Chapter 18

Michonne and Daryl split up, each nodding to the other as a gesture of acknowledgement between two warriors. Michonne ducked down the back alleyway while Daryl skirted the edge of the inner walls and alleys. Crouching behind a woodpile, Daryl watched the men on the wall and those patrolling the streets. A few unarmed civilians darted to and from buildings, but it was obvious that there was a curfew in effect.

Daryl's attention was drawn to a tall man with a commanding presence. He was being approached by a group of armed men but seemed at ease, and they, respectful of him.

_The Governor_, he thought to himself, his jaw clenching in anger.

He breathed deeply, trying to calm himself. He could just shoot him from here and be gone, but he needed to get Merle out of there.

That's when he heard his voice.

Merle had a rifle slung over his neck, his arms resting up and over it. The Governor was addressing him and pointing toward different areas as if he was going to have his men search.

_Shit, _he thought. _He knows Andrea and Carol are gone._

Looking around, Daryl searched for any sign of Michonne. Now that Merle and the Governor were together, it was going to make things complicated.

Daryl was about to move when he felt the cold hard metal of a shotgun press against his neck.

Daryl closed his eyes in surrender.

"Stand up real slow." The voice ordered.

Daryl raised his hands above his head and stood slowly.

"Move!" The voice continued. He felt the shotgun butt into his back and began walking.

As they emerged from the shadows, the Governor, Merle and the others turned to see them.

"Daryl?" Merle questioned, following behind the Governor.

Daryl let out his breath and looked from Merle to the Governor.

"So this would be your infamous brother?" The Governor drawled, his voice dripping with syrupy sweetness.

Merle was shocked. The last thing in the world he was expecting to see was his brother. He didn't know what to say.

The Governor didn't care what Merle thought. His eyes were lit with the fires of wrath. He was delighted.

Now, they had someone to punish for their suffering.

##############################################################################

Michonne was well hidden and watched everything unfold.

Daryl had been dragged away by a few of the men, Merle and the Governor in tow. Daryl started fighting them the minute they put their hands on him, earning his a swift rifle butt to the head, stunning him long enough to take him to their barracks.

Michonne couldn't do anything from inside the barracks. For now, Daryl was going to have to fend for himself.

A thought that made Michonne angry.

#############################################################################

Daryl awoke to a bucket of ice cold water being splashed in his face.

Gasping for air, he spit the water out, looking up at his jailer just in time to see a fist flying at his face.

Daryl felt the impact of the knuckles split the skin on his cheek. The stinging pain woke him up quickly as his head went flying back. He tasted the blood in his mouth and turned back to look at his attacker and spit, hitting him in the face.

The man hit Daryl again, this time splitting his lip, then again in the eye. Daryl didn't have time to spit at him this time.

"If this is foreplay, at least tell me your name." Daryl said sarcastically, the acerbic tone and disdain obvious to the other man who socked him in the stomach this time.

"Does that mean no?" Daryl asked, mocking the other man and causing him to get angry. This time, however, Daryl was ready and when the guy came in to swing, Daryl planted his booted foot right in the guy's crotch.

The breath left the other man as he fell to his knees, earning him another kick from Daryl square to the face this time.

_That felt good,_ Daryl thought.

The man lay on the floor in a ball, moaning in agony, as the door opened again. This time it was the Governor and Merle.

"You weren't kidding, Merle. Your brother is tough." The Governor stated, looking down at his man who lay on the floor.

"Get him out of here." The Governor ordered.

Two more men came in a removed the crying man from the room.

Daryl glared up at him.

"So my question is, why are you here?" The Governor asked.

"I came for Merle." Daryl answered honestly.

"Then why sneak in?" The Governor intoned, sizing Daryl up. He was smaller than Merle, leaner than Merle, but there was something about Daryl that was different. He just didn't know what it was yet.

"I've been watching and you ain't exactly the easiest man in the world to approach." Daryl snorted with dry humor.

"What do you mean?" The Governor asked, curious now.

"You want me to be honest?" Daryl asked, looking up at the man who towered over him.

"I wouldn't waste my time with anything else." He answered.

"Your fucking psycho." Daryl retorted.

He saw the Governor's face tic with anger, his eyes narrowing.

"Let's see, you keep your zombie daughter locked in a closet for some daddy-daughter time, you keep the heads of people you kill, you lie to your people, you're a tyrant with a god-complex, oh, and you tortured Glenn and nearly raped his girlfriend." Daryl answered, his eyes narrowing back with deadly intent.

If he was gonna die, he was gonna die well.

"There's more." He continued, smiling at the fact that he was upsetting this son of a bitch. If he could just antagonize him a little more, get him to come closer, he could take a shot at him. Mostly, however, he was hoping that his little rant was giving Merle a clear picture of what this guy really was.

"When your daughter called you on it, you flipped your shit and beat the crap out of her so badly she ran away. When she came back to you, you were glad she'd been hurt, just real upset you hadn't been the one to do it, but some sick, twisted part of you wanted to see so you made her strip her clothes off in front of you, you sick fuck!" Daryl yelled, the fury in his voice making it loud enough that all the men outside heard as well.

The Governor lost his cool and jumped on Daryl, punching him in the face, and knocking the chair over. Crashing to the floor, the chair broke under the weight of both men. Daryl was taking shots to the ribs and sides but managed to free one of his hands. Grabbing ahold of the chair leg, he swung it sideways, hitting the Governor in the side of the head and knocking him sideways.

It happened so fast, Merle didn't know what to do. A small part of him was proud as hell, watching Daryl give as good as he got, but the selfish side was scared. The Governor was powerful and if he sided with his brother in this, and they lost, he'd be dead too.

The Governor grabbed Daryl in a headlock and slammed him into the wall. Breaking his hold, however, Daryl was able to knee the Governor in the kidneys before uppercutting him in the jaw and knocking him back. The Governor fell to the floor and looked up to see a boot coming at his face.

The boot belonged to Merle.


	19. Chapter 19

Merle immediately grabbed Daryl, helping to untie his brother. He just about had the ropes off of him when he was jumped from behind by three of the Governor's men. Daryl turned and saw what was happening and instantly leapt onto the back of one of them, peeling him off of his brother and throwing him onto the ground. A fist came flying in his direction but he caught it out of the corner of his good eye and managed to get most of his face out of the way.

He felt arms grab him from behind so he used the back of his head as a battering ram, head-butting the guy holding him, then turning quickly to his with an elbow slam to the face. His assailant fell back and didn't get up.

Merle had two of the Governor's men on him. The Governor scrambled to get up after taking Merle's boot to the face, and spit blood out onto the ground.

"Take them!" He heard the Governor growl, and Merle turned, throwing an uppercut right into the throat of another of his men. The man dropped to the floor, clutching his throat, his mouth gaping desperately for air.

Daryl finished him off with a kick to the side of the head, making the man land face down and silent.

Kicking another onrusher, Daryl bolted to Merle. Fighting back to back, just like the good old days, they finished another two of the Governor's men. Unfortunately, the next wave of men rushed into the room and they saw guns. Merle didn't hesitate, rushing both of the men with his arms spread wide, and slamming them into the wall. Daryl took the opportunity to run forward and grab the neck of the Governor's shirt dragging him back into the room. Tugging him off his feet, he was so focused on the Governor that he didn't see the butt of a rifle come out of nowhere, catching him in the temple, and spinning him in a full circle.

Daryl hit the ground face first. His eyes wouldn't focus and his thoughts raced to thoughts of Katelyn. Fear took hold of him as he realized that the Governor was still alive and could hurt Katelyn. Struggling to keep his eyes open, he thought that this was it for him and hoped that Michonne killed the Governor. He heard the scuffle for a few more seconds before darkness engulfed him again.

###################################################################################

Michonne watched the wave of the Governor's men rushing in. It was obvious to her that things were not going well inside for the Governor, but she knew inevitably, that Daryl couldn't face all of them and win. Worse, was that Merle was the only ally within and she had zero faith in him. Her jaw tightened as she thought about leaving Daryl at the mercy of either maniac. Calming herself, she patiently held tight for any sign of an opening.

She didn't have long to wait.

And she was pleasantly surprised.

Two men went running toward the bell tower. Just behind them, a relatively beat-up crew was dragging an unconscious Daryl and shoving a stumbling Merle out of the barracks and into the arena with guns at his back. Merle turned around and slugged the guard who shoved him. The guards began to beat him down to the ground where they were finally forced to hit him in the head with their pistol. When Merle finally fell to his knees, they merely dragged him behind them.

She hadn't said anything when Daryl said that he was going to go in after his brother, but she had worried the whole time. She didn't have a good opinion of Merle, but apparently he had one good quality; brotherly love, and she could respect that at least.

Throwing both men into the arena center, the guards stood around them with their guns pointed at the brothers and waited. The Governor was washing his face with cold water, wiping the blood and grime from himself. It was obvious that he had gotten the piss beat out of him by one of the brothers and Michonne smiled.

The Dixon boys were tough sons of bitches.

Michonne began moving with the stealth of a panther, crouching low and slinking across the expanse without detection. Everyone was so focused on what was happening in the pit, no one noticed her move into position on the top of one of the lower buildings.

People were filing out of buildings at the sound of the bells ringing with confusion on their faces. They were gathered by the guards and funneled into the arena stands.

Michonne looked back toward Daryl who lay face down on the ground and Merle who stood in the center right next to his brother. She saw Daryl's head move a little and then his eyes opened, looking right at her. She saw him blink a few times and knew he was shaking off the effects of being unconscious. She unsheathed her katana enough to let the moonlight catch the metal of her blade.

Daryl saw the gleam of Michonne's blade and knew that the moment to strike was near. He felt like shit, but this was all or nothing. His hands weren't tied so he began to stand up. He felt someone grab him and lift him to his feet.

"Nice of you to join the party, little brother." Merle said smugly, chuckling wryly at their situation.

"Sounds like fun." Daryl muttered, looking around him at all of the people who were filtering into the arena. He had seen the burning that took place with the doctor and knew that he and Merle were scheduled for an execution.

Merle didn't know that Michonne was here, but Daryl thought that maybe, with the three of them, they'd be able to take enough of them out that the rest would flee. Daryl started sizing up the men surrounding them. There was one in particular that looked uncomfortable. He held an M-16 in his shaking hands, which was pointed at Merle.

That would be his first target.

"Just wait for my lead." Daryl said under his breath toward Merle.

Merle looked at him funny. Usually it was Daryl following his lead.

"We've got some backup." Daryl explained as Merle turned to look at him.

"Who?" Merle asked, his eyes searching the crowd for possible allies.

"Michonne." Daryl replied, knowing that Merle wouldn't be too happy about that, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

"Shit." Merle swore, "That bitch!?"

"That 'bitch' is gonna save our asses here." Daryl said.

"Well hell, maybe I'll just put my feet up and watch you two work." Merle said sarcastically.

"Hell no. We're gonna need all of us if we hope to get out of here." Daryl snapped, irritated that his brother was such an ass. "Our main target is the Governor. Kill him and everything falls apart. No chain of command."

"Sure there is." Merle said smirking, "Me."

"Don't be a jackass, Merle. I'm serious." Daryl stated, earning him a sour look from his arrogant brother.

"Fine. Fine." Merle grinned, holding up his hands and looking at the Governor who was hushing the crowd.

"We've been struggling lately." The Governor shouted, addressing the crowd of curious onlookers. "Raids, vicious attacks, murders…all, because of one group!"

The crowd was looking at Daryl and Merle in the center with frowns of confusion.

"Well tonight, we caught two of them. One of them, was one of our own; Merle…traitor and coward! The other, his brother, who snuck into our town tonight, but tonight we put an end to it!" The Governor declared, amping up his speech, "Tonight, we will have JUSTICE!"

The Governor motioned for the men to move forward to take hold of Merle and Daryl. Four men rushed forward to grab their arms.

Suddenly, all hell broke loose.

Launching through the air in a spectacular maneuver, Michonne, katana held aloft, swung, slicing through the Governor's left side. Blood erupted in a spray that arched across the center of the arena, leaving three of his men covered in the splatter. Michonne landed with almost supernatural grace, right in front of the Governor, shoving her katana back and into his gut.

The Governor gasped, not knowing what had happened, before falling to his knees.

The crowd exploded in chaos.

Gunshots, shoving, fighting.

Daryl didn't waste any time, immediately diving for the man with the M-16 and twisting it out of his hands. Smacking the surprised man across the face with the rifle, Daryl dropped him in one hit before turning, pulling the gun up to his shoulder to couch it and aiming.

One, two, three.

_Just like killing walkers,_ Daryl thought to himself, as he popped three of the guards, fully giving into his anger at these idiots for following that psychotic despot.

Glancing quickly at Merle, Daryl immediately realized that he, too, had a gun and was using the screaming, running citizens as cover, darting in between them.

"Merle!" Daryl yelled, pointing at the wall, before looking for Michonne.

The Governor had fallen immediately to the ground, but he didn't see his body anywhere. Michonne was cutting down anyone who came near her as she waded through the bodies towards Daryl.

"You ready to get the hell outta here!?" Daryl yelled over the chaos.

Michonne nodded and started for the wall.

Bursting out of the bedlam behind them, the three made their way for the wall.


	20. Chapter 20

Andrea and Carol broke the treeline in a dead run. Rick stepped out from behind the trees to grab Carol as she blew by him. Andrea stopped the moment she saw them.

Breaking out into a huge smile, Andrea rushed over to Glenn, Rick, and Maggie to hug them.

"Oh my God! I never thought I'd see you guys again." She blurted out, tears almost forming in her eyes. She hadn't realized how much they meant to her until they'd been separated. They'd all been through so much together and it gave her such hope to see them again.

"We thought you were dead." Glenn said, hugging her again.

"I hate to cut the reunion short but we need to be ready. Once Michonne and Daryl are done, we're gonna need to cover their escape." Rick interrupted.

"Done doing what?" Andrea asked, looking at the group's faces. She suddenly felt nervous as she realized that something was going on.

"They're going to kill the Governor and get Merle out of there." Maggie whispered.

"What!?" Andrea exclaimed, stunned that they were trying to kill him, and confused as to how she felt about that.

"There's things you don't know about, Andrea." Maggie said, sadness creeping into her eyes as she thought about what had happened.

"Obviously, but when did we become assassins?" She demanded, anger creeping into her voice.

"When he became a threat to our group's safety." Rick stated.

"How is he a threat, here?" Andrea asked, placing her hands on her hips in irritation.

Rick didn't want to say anything in front of Maggie and Glenn so he took Andrea's arm and led her to the side.

"He had Glenn tortured and almost raped Maggie when she wouldn't cooperate." Rick explained quietly, glancing over at the others in the ground behind them.

Andrea's eyes flew open when she heard Rick's words. Suddenly, she couldn't breathe, her thoughts racing to the man she'd been sleeping with. If what Rick said was true, she'd begun to fall in love with a rapist and a murderer.

Andrea looked straight at Maggie, their eyes locking, and she knew.

She knew it was true.

Andrea turned suddenly and vomited on the ground.

Gasping for air, she drew a deep breath, covering her mouth with her hand in shock and stumbled. Rick grabbed her before she fell and she slid to her knees.

_Oh my God_, she thought, _What have I done?_

Rick helped her, putting his hands on her upper arms, he helped her stand. Andrea shook her head, trying to deny what she knew in her heart.

"It's not your fault." Rick said, trapping her face with both hands so she had to look at him. "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is. I should have known. I should have listened to Michonne." Andrea sobbed, "I slept with that son of a bitch. I almost fell in love with him…."

Rick sighed, pulling her in for a hug. He didn't have much to give anyone right now, but they had all been through so much together that he couldn't deny her comfort.

"Oh god," she moaned, pulling inward until fury began to take hold of her.

"I hope they kill him." Andrea said coldly, gritting her teeth and pulling away from Rick.

Maggie watched, her face a picture of sorrow. She knew how Andrea was feeling. She once had a boyfriend who turned out to be a real dick. It was nothing compared to this, but she could at least commiserate a little.

Walking over to Andrea, Maggie put her arms around her and pulled her in for a hug.

"I'm sorry, Andrea." Maggie said quietly.

"I can never undo what I've done, but I can damn sure make it so it doesn't happen again." Andrea declared and before anyone could do anything, she grabbed Maggie's machete and took off running for the fence.

"Shit!" Rick swore, taking off after her.

But it was too late.

Andrea grabbed the branch and pulled herself up. Climbing one branch higher, she dropped down on the other side of the walker yard fence.

##############################################################################

Racing to the inner fence, they saw the guards turning their guns at them and all three escapees dove behind a pile of tires. Landing in a heap, Michonne was the first to spring to her feet, offering a hand to Daryl. Merle glared at her, ignoring the hand she offered.

"Suit yourself." She ground out in irritation.

Merle was such an asshole.

"Come on." Daryl took off running, ducked down behind the pile of tires and car parts, motioning for them to follow him.

The crowd had all scattered, panic setting in, causing a few fights that the guards had to break up. People still weren't sure what happened, and were running for supplies and any weapons they could find. After seeing the Governor take the hit from Michonne's katana, they all assumed that he was dead.

Now, it was a mad dash for any provisions they could get ahold of so they weren't forced to flee without anything. The families were terrified, not knowing what to do so they ran for their homes and locked themselves in, believing that everything would be okay if they just waited it out. Those that had been through this before, knew better.

Ducking behind a shed, Daryl stood flat against the wall, peeking his head around to look for anyone coming their way, but saw no one. Bolting for the building across the way, he turned the corner and ran straight into the menacing Andrea. Grabbing her out of instinct, with his hand over her mouth, he flipped her around to hold onto her waist so she couldn't scream or run, before realizing who she was.

"Jesus Christ, Andrea!" He hissed, his heart pounding in his ears.

Andrea struggled ferociously until she recognized the voice. The moment he loosened his grip, she turned around to face him, her eyes wide with fear.

"Oh my God, Daryl! You scared the shit out of me." Andrea whispered angrily.

"You're supposed to be with Rick!" He chastised.

"Yeah, well I got business inside." Andrea said rebelliously.

"Too late. Business is concluded." Daryl said, turning her back around to shove her forward so they could all escape unscathed.

Andrea stopped and turned back around to look him in the eye.

Daryl could tell she was upset. The mixture of fury and agony clearly written on her face. For a moment, the look reminded him of Katelyn.

"He's gone, Andrea. Michonne gutted him." Daryl said sympathetically.

He watched as tears sprang to her eyes for a fleeting moment before she pushed them away and let anger replace them.

Daryl took her arm gently and pushed her forward again.

This time, she didn't argue.

Heading to the walker yard, the group of four sprinted to the tree, launching themselves into it. Each pulling the other up, they made their way out of Woodbury…forever.


	21. Chapter 21

Katelyn paced the fenceline, her ears straining to listen for any sign of their return. Whispering fervently, she prayed for their safe return. Throughout the day she had been walking the fence absentmindedly, killing any walkers who ventured close enough for her to stab. As night drew nearer, her stomach twisted with knots of nervousness. Clutching the fence, Katelyn closed her eyes.

"Please be okay. Please be okay." Katelyn murmured to god, hoping that if there was one up there, he would grant this small thing.

Carol came out to stand, watching Katelyn at the fence. He had lost so much recently, that he had turned cold, feeling very little anymore. He wondered if he would ever fall in love, though no part of him wished it. It seemed like more a hindrance than anything.

Walking toward her, he called out.

"Kate!" He yelled, watching as she turned.

Kate sighed, turning her back to the fence and began walking toward the boy. It was dark now and too dangerous to wait outside.

She was about to follow him through the doorway when she heard something and walked back out. Her eyes focusing on the road, she tilted her head so that her ears would pick up any sound. There is was again.

A smile broke out on her face as she watched the two vehicles rumble up the drive. Racing to the gates, she unlocked the first one before bolting to the second one of open it for them. The cars drove past her and she secured the locks behind her before running up to the car.

Her grin faded the moment she saw Daryl's beat up face. Rushing to him, she frantically searched his body for any horrible injuries before he grabbed her to pull against him.

"I'm fine. Just a little sore." He said, realizing what she was doing. He held her tightly against him before picking her up off the ground and kissing her.

They only stopped when they heard the snort behind them.

"Well, lookee here! Seems like you got yourself a sweet piece a ass." Merle whooped.

Daryl stopped, his mouth sagging in a frown. Setting her down, he turned to his brother and glared at him.

"Shut up, Merle." Daryl hissed at his brother which only provoked Earl to laugh harder.

Rolling his eyes, Daryl took Katelyn's hand and tugged her forward. Leading her inside, he walked into his room with her.

"Is that Merle?" Katelyn asked, fearing the worst. So far, she wasn't overly impressed with him.

"Yeah." Daryl answered, stripping off his shirt to wash down a little.

Katelyn gasped when she saw the bruises.

"Oh my god, Daryl." She wept, rushing over to him.

"I look worse than I feel. They're just bruises sweetheart. It was worth it." Daryl assured her.

Katelyn leaned in to kiss one of the bruises on his shoulder and smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry." Katelyn whispered.

Daryl paused and turned to look at her. Lifting her chin so she met his gaze, he kissed her gently.

"Don't apologize. It ain't your fault." Daryl said quietly.

Katelyn wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. Daryl followed suit, laying his cheek on the top of her head.

"Is he dead?" Katelyn whispered.

It took Daryl a moment to answer. She could tell he was reluctant.

"Yeah." Daryl stated softly.

Katelyn nodded but no tears came to her eyes.

"Well ain't this sweet!" The abrasive voice of Merle interrupted their moment and Daryl's eyes closed. He wasn't in the mood to deal with this shit.

"Whatdya want, Merle?" Daryl snapped, turning to look at him.

"Ain't you gonna introduce us?" Merle asked lasciviously, looking her up and down.

Daryl sighed, dropping his hands before leading her over toward him.

"Katelyn this is Merle." Daryl said, before adding almost as if he forgot, "My brother."

Katelyn smiled at Merle timidly. She didn't have a good feeling about him but she wanted to be nice. He was Daryl's brother after all.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you." Katelyn said, her etiquette taking over so she offered a hand.

"Manners and all. We got us a proper southern belle here." Merle teased meanly, ignoring her offer.

Katelyn dropped her hand.

"Leave 'er alone, Merle." Daryl warned, a threatening tone seeping into his voice.

Merle was actually taken aback. He'd never really heard his brother take that tone with him and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but he didn't like Miss Snottypants, especially since she seemed to be changing his brother.

"You and me need to talk, little brother." Merle said, turning away from her dismissively.

"That's fine. I'll be out in a minute." Daryl said, turning back to Katelyn, ignoring Merle.

Merle's eyes narrowed when Daryl turned his back on him to pay attention to…her. Yeah, he really didn't like this bitch.

Turning to leave, he called out over his shoulder, "We got Dixon business, brother, and that takes priority over bitches."

Katelyn stiffened. Daryl's teeth gritted.

Both of them watched Merle leave.

Daryl waited a moment before turning back to her.

"I'm sorry. He's…well, he's…he's…" Daryl stuttered, not exactly sure what to say.

"…an asshole?" Katelyn supplied, smirking at Daryl warmly.

"Yeah. He kinda is." Daryl smiled, running his hand through his hair, glad that she wasn't taking it hard.

"He's a lot to handle. I gotta go set all this right and figure out what to do with him. You okay here?" Daryl asked, looking around "their" room.

"I think I can manage. You go take care of what you need to. I'm just glad you're back safe." Katelyn said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him on the mouth.

She was about to pull away, but he grabbed her around the waist and deepened the kiss.

"God I love you, woman." Daryl growled, causing Katelyn to giggle.

"Good." She said before playfully batting his hands away to shoo him.

"All right. I'm goin'." Daryl said with feigned irritation.

Ducking out, Daryl went after Merle.

############################################################################

Michonne sat, sharpening her blade, watching Merle with an eagle eye. She didn't trust one square inch of him and sure as hell wouldn't be turning her back on him. Rick must have had the same idea because he stood in the tower looking down at Merle Dixon.

Daryl found Merle standing outside the prison within the inner courtyard, waiting for him.

"Woo! You got yourself a pretty one." Merle whistled.

"Knock it off." Daryl warned, trying to figure out how to explain this to Merle.

"What's wrong little brother? Worried she'll get her feelings hurt?" Merle continued to tease.

"She doesn't need your shit, Merle. She's been through enough!" Daryl snapped, glaring at his big brother.

"She's got you pussy whipped!" Merle hooted with laughter.

"You done?" Daryl asked with quiet menace.

"You always were the soft one." Merle replied softly, dead serious.

Daryl launched at him, his fist connecting solidly with his face, knocking Merle back two steps. Growling, Daryl pulled back to swing at him again, but Merle swung first, hitting Daryl's already battered face and knocking him to the ground. Daryl stood, lunging with both arms to tackle Merle, tumbling him to the ground with Daryl on top of him. Sitting on top, Daryl punched Merle in the face and gut before Merle threw Daryl up and over his head, landing him on his back and knocking the wind out of him. Merle swung around to pin Daryl but got grabbed from behind by someone and pulled off of him.

Everyone came rushing out and when they heard the commotion Tyreese immediately grabbed Merle, yanking him off.

"Knock it off!" Tyreese bellowed, his deep voice resonating across the yard.

Unfortunately, Daryl was still furious and lunged for Merle, punching him in the stomach then hit him with an uppercut to the jaw. Glenn and Rick grabbed his arms.

"You talk about Katelyn that way one more time and I'll fuckin' kill you!" Daryl threatened, screaming furiously at Merle.

Merle had seen him angry before and hell, they'd fought more than once, but never with the intensity he saw in Daryl's eyes. It had always been the Dixon brothers against the world and now he was getting shoved aside for a piece of ass.

Not while he lived.

Merle shrugged Tyreese off and held up his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay. Don't get so hostile little brother. I was only playin'." Merle feigned in his consillatory voice. He'd practiced it often enough with the Governor.

No one believed it for a moment.

Katelyn had run to the doorway but had been grabbed by Andrea who didn't want her to get hurt in the scuffle. Now Katelyn broke free and ran over to them.

"What the hell is going on?!" Katelyn demanded, looking from Daryl to Merle.

"Nothing." Both boys clammed up, neither one wanting anyone else to know family business.

Katelyn frowned.

Daryl was starting to calm down so Rick was the only one holding him. Patting his shoulder, he let go of him.

"You okay?" Rick asked, knowing that this situation was a bad one all the way around.

Daryl nodded, spitting the blood from his cut lip onto the ground.

"Well that was exciting! I'm starved. What d'we got for dinna?" Merle asked, his voice an intense mixture of playful and dangerous.

He glanced one more time at Katelyn who was checking Daryl over and made a plan in his head.

_Aint no bitches comin' between the Dixon brothers_, he thought to himself before walking back inside.


	22. Chapter 22

Katelyn and Daryl lay in bed, her head resting on his shoulder as she studied his face.

"What are you thinking about, Daryl Dixon?" Katelyn asked softly, stroking his cheek lovingly.

Daryl turned his face, looking down at her, and smiled sadly. He couldn't explain what was wrong but he had a bad feeling in his stomach concerning Merle and it made him sad. There was a part of him that was mourning the loss of his brother already. Inevitably, Merle was either going to have to change, or he'd have to go and he knew which one Merle would choose.

"You look so sad." Katelyn said, her smile turning into a frown as she sat up to look down at him.

Daryl turned his head into the crook of her arm and kissed it without answering and Katelyn began to worry.

"Tell me what's wrong." She whispered, worry beginning to take hold.

He didn't know how to explain Merle to her. Hell, he couldn't even explain him. There was a part of him that was afraid that she would see Merle and suddenly come to her senses. That she'd know that Merle and Daryl were cut from the same cloth. That he was a stupid, ignorant redneck, hateful and angry. Just like his brother.

"Hey." She nudged gently, running her hand through his hair.

Daryl looked up into her eyes and wondered if he dare tell her about their childhood. Would she run away? Would she hate him? Stop loving him?

Daryl sighed.

"It's Merle." Daryl explained quietly, not wanting anyone to overhear.

"What about him?" She asked, searching his face for the source of his mood.

"It's just that Merle…he's messed up. He's always been like that. He thinks all women are…" He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"…whores?" She supplied, knowing exactly what type of guy Merle was and wondering how Daryl managed to survive their childhood with his soul intact.

"Yeah." Daryl said, laying his head on her arm, seeking comfort in his quiet way.

Katelyn played with his hair absently, smiling sadly at him.

"You love him though." She stated softly. "He's your brother."

"Yeah." He answered.

"You guys must have been through a lot when you were young." Katelyn was guessing now because she saw how reluctant Daryl was to discuss this and thought it might help.

"Yeah." He answered again, his eyes drifting off to somewhere far away.

"You feel loyal to him." She supplied, knowing exactly the kind of feelings that a life like that can evoke in people. She realized that was why Daryl understood her relationship with her father, and smiled sadly.

Daryl merely nodded this time.

"And since he doesn't think highly of women, he won't be happy you have someone else in your life." She started putting the clues together and suddenly understood what the fight in the courtyard had been about.

Daryl nodded again.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, kissing him on the forehead, realizing how boyish he looked laying on her arm.

"I don't want you to have to choose." She said, laying her cheek to his.

"Me neither." He said quietly, sighing with sadness.

Wrapping her arms around him, he let her hold him until they both fell asleep.

############################################################################

Merle stood outside Daryl's cell, his back pressed against the wall, listening to their intimate conversation. At first, he'd come to offer the olive branch so he could get a better idea of how to split them up, but he'd stumbled on them talking and couldn't resist.

_Damn, his brother had gone soft!_, he thought to himself, anger beginning to surge inside of him. _He needed to get that bitch away from him fast._

Back up, Merle quietly walked back down to the main floor and into the cell they'd given him, but he was startled when he saw Michonne standing there glaring at him.

"What the fuck you want?" Merle snapped. He hated that woman.

"You stay away from them." Michonne warned, narrowing her eyes.

"I don't know whatchur talking 'bout." Merle drawled, turning on the "smooth".

"You know exactly what I'm talkin' about." Michonne stated coldly. "You're brother ain't the same as you. He's a good man. Leave 'im be."

Merle sneered at her.

"Stay out of Dixon business." Merle snapped.

"This group is my business and that includes your brother. I intend to keep everyone safe…even from you." Michonne threatened in a low and deadly voice.

"You better watch yoself missy. You might have an unfortunate accident one day." Merle threatened back.

Michonne just glared at him as Merle walked out of the room.

Michonne waited until he was gone and went to find Rick.

He was easy to find, standing in the middle of their "living room" with the others. Holding his baby, he looked more like a father and less like their ferocious leader. Michonne actually felt a pang of pity for him. Rick was an honorable man. Maybe a little ragged, but his strong sense of goodness was still present and he was fiercely protective and loyal to his group. She admired that.

"I'm thinkin' Merle's gonna be a problem." Michonne was abrupt, cutting straight to the chase.

The room paused what they were doing, turning to stare at Michonne's revelation. Rick looked at everyone, and stood. Taking Michonne's arm, he guided her to the side before replying.

"What d'you mean?" He asked, quietly, trying to keep their conversation under wraps.

"He's dangerous. A killer. He's already got Katelyn in his sights." She explained.

"Katelyn?" Rick was confused. He wasn't sure why Merle would go after her.

"He doesn't like that Daryl cares about her. He wants Daryl to himself, so to speak." Michonne stated.

"What makes you think that? Why would Merle care who Daryl cares about?" Rick didn't understand the way evil men thought. He didn't understand someone forged in hatred, prejudice and rage. Merle Dixon was such a man. He hurt, so he wanted the rest of the world to be miserable with him.

"He's just that kinda guy." Michonne bit out tightly, feeling the anger toward Merle settle in her hands making her flex her fingers.

"He threaten her?" Rick asked in his straightforward manner.

"Doesn't have to." Michonne said, realizing that Rick was too earnest and honest. He would never move against Merle based on intention alone. He'd need proof, but unfortunately, if they waited for proof, it'd be too late.

"Well he does with me. Unless he does somethin', I can't do much." Rick explained.

"He tried to kill me. He beat Glenn nearly to death. Isn't that enough?" Michonne asked.

Rick paused for a moment, looking over at Glenn, his mind racing through the facts.

"You're right. He did. I can't move against him without talking to Daryl though. Wouldn't be right." Rick stated, resting his hands on his hips.

Michonne's mind sharpened. Rick was fair-minded and she respected that so she was willing to do it his way, she just hoped that it wouldn't get someone hurt or worse.

"Fine." Michonne agreed, nodding at Rick, "You let me know when you're ready to move and I'll be there."

Rick nodded.

He didn't really know what to think of Michonne. She was a killer. A predator in a woman's skin. She wasn't murderous or enraged, but cold and calculating. Deadly. She wasn't uncontrollable or unstable which made her an asset to the group and they needed her now, more than ever. They had lost too many of their group.

Rick watched as Michonne strode away from them, thinking that he was almost glad she was here.


	23. Chapter 23

Merle watched them for days, sick over what a pansy-ass his brother had become. It made him want to gag. Burning rage began building in him when he saw how Daryl had become so soft with his new group. Daryl needed to learn that you can only trust family.

Merle waited until Katelyn walked out into the courtyard, making sure no one was around, and grabbed her from behind. With his hand covering her mouth and a strong arm around her waist, he dragged her kicking and squirming back behind the building and around the corner toward the shed around the back.

Opening the shed, he dragged Katelyn inside and threw her to the ground.

Katelyn hit the pavement floor, looking up at Merle in surprise. Suddenly terrified, she began screaming as loud as she could. Merle held up his hands in surrender.

"Shh…shh…shh…I ain't gonna hurcha. I was just playin'" Merle smiled but his mouth looked more like a menacing grimace than a smile.

Katelyn stopped for a second before starting to scream again.

Merle was getting desperate. He didn't have much time.

"Come on now. I said I ain't gonna hurcha. Shh. Calm down woman. Jesus!" He growled in frustration lunging for her.

Grabbing her head, he covered her mouth with the palm of his hand, still trying to calm her down.

"Jesus! You act like I'm killin' ya. I just wanna talk." Merle tried reasoning with her and Katelyn stopped screaming.

Realizing that no one could hear her, she tried to take deep breaths to calm herself but she could feel the ringing in her ears begin.

"I just wanna talk." Merle said softly, trying to keep her quiet, as he crouched down in front of her.

Katelyn's eyes were huge as she looked up at Merle in horror. Her breathing was becoming more rapid and she began shaking so badly that even Merle noticed.

"What the hell's wrong with you girl?" Merle swore, irritated at her reaction to him.

Katelyn's mouth opened and closed like a gaping fish but no words came out. Merle was irritated, not sure what was wrong with her.

"You got some sorta medical condition or somethin'?" He asked, realizing that his plan wasn't going to work out the way he wanted it to.

Katelyn started gasping for air like she couldn't breathe and Merle swore.

"Shit! You asthmatic or somethin'? What the hell?" Merle bit out, standing up, pacing in agitation, trying to figure out what to do.

When Merle turned back to help her stand, she scooted away from him frantically. Grabbing ahold of one of the shelves, she pulled herself up and scrambled to the corner, desperately seeking a hiding place. Her chest was heaving with panic and her eyes were starting to see spots.

"Hey! Don't do that! Let's talk about this." Merle was desperate now. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to kill the stupid bitch. He just wanted to get rid of her.

Merle had never seen anyone act like this. It reminded him of an animal with its leg caught in a trap ready to gnaw off its own leg to get away. It was annoying.

Holding up his hands again in a gesture of peace, he tried once again.

"You need to tell me what's goin' on." He tried a placating voice, moving slowly towards her, but she pulled back into the corner, grabbing the shelf to stabilize herself.

Merle watched the color drain from her face and realized that it was serious.

"Shit!" He swore, pissed off that his brother picked such a fucking defective chick. "My brother done fall in love with a retard or somethin'."

Muttering under his breath, Merle lunged for her thinking to grab her and drag her out but Katelyn grabbed a screwdriver and stabbed him in the arm.

Merle shrieked in pain and surprise, pulling his arm back and Katelyn bolted past him. Merle didn't let her get far though, and grabbed her before she could get out the door. Katelyn went wild, her fists striking anything she could land on, her legs kicking and twisting to escape. Her head flew back unconsciously and hit Merle in the face causing stinging tears to blur his vision, but Merle was getting pissed.

Grabbing her by the hair, he shoved her away and started dragging her back into the shed. Determined to make her calm down, he grabbed her arms and shook her until she went limp. Collapsing on the ground in front of him, Merle looked down angrily. Using his foot, he shoved her over onto her back to make sure she was breathing. Her face was pale and Merle was worried that he'd killed her for a second but then saw her chest moving up and down.

"Shit!" Merle swore, trying to figure out how to salvage this problem.

He knew that the minute she woke up, she was gonna rat him out to Daryl and the others and he was screwed. He didn't like committing cold-blooded murder, but he would if he had to. Looking around, Merle found a huge lawn bag. Grabbing it, he spread it out on the ground and then shoved her on top of it with his boot. Rolling the tarp up with her inside of it, he grabbed the bungee cables from the shelf and wrapped them around her, securing her within the tarp. Opening the shed door slightly, he peeked out to make sure that no one was looking.

Grabbing the end of the tarp, he dragged her out and hoisted her over his shoulder. Turning to walk out of the shed, he came face to face with a pissed off Michonne.

Michonne didn't hesitate, swinging her katana straight at him, but Merle threw Katelyn's body straight at Michonne. Pulling her katana back abruptly, Michonne couldn't dodge the body and was knocked to the ground. Merle knew that he couldn't take Michonne without a gun, and was left with only one choice.

He ran.

Michonne jumped to her feet and was going to go after him but was overcome with the thought that he had killed Katelyn. Screaming for Rick and Daryl as loudly as she could, she dropped to her knees beside the tarp and began looking for the ends of the bungee cords.

Fumbling with the cords became too tedious so Michonne sliced the cords with her katana and began unrolling Katelyn from inside the tarp.

Rick, Daryl and the others came running.

Michonne rolled the last of the tarp off of Katelyn, leaving her lying on top of it. Daryl didn't know what was happening but the moment he saw her, he raced toward them.

"It was Merle. He ran." Michonne explained as the panicked Daryl dropped down beside Katelyn's body.

Daryl wasn't listening. He was too busy checking over her body for injuries. Seeing nothing, he finally paid attention to what Michonne was saying.

"What!?" Daryl demanded.

"I was keepin' an eye on your brother. He disappeared so I went to find him. I found him coming out of that shed with her." Michonne said angrily.

Daryl saw red instantly.

Standing up, he started bellowing.

"MERLE! You fucking coward!" Daryl was incensed, not noticing that Rick had moved in to issue orders.

"Tyreese, Michonne, I want you to come with me to look for Merle. The rest of you, get her back to Hershel and take Daryl with you." Rick said, taking off with Michonne leading the way.

"Daryl." Maggie said softly, trying not to upset him further.

Daryl's eyes were red with rage and tears but he looked at her.

"We need to get her back inside." She was trying to speak gently because she knew how upset he was.

Daryl just stared at her furiously before comprehending what she was saying. Looking down as if it just dawned on him, Daryl dropped back to his knees beside her. Pushing her hair from her face, he tried to talk to her.

"Kate?" Daryl said gruffly, his voice raw with emotion. "Katelyn? I need you to wake up."

She didn't move.

Daryl bowed his head, laying it on her chest. His own brother had done this to her.

"Katie." He whispered sorrowfully.

He felt her move her hand and his head shot up to look at her.

"Hey baby." Daryl said quietly, his hands shaking with fury and panic.

Katelyn looked around fearfully. He could tell she was confused and he tried to calm her.

"It's okay. He's gone." He assured her, taking her hand in his.

Struggling to sit up, Daryl helped her but could tell she was still in shock.

"Just take a few deep breaths." He coached, letting her adjust to her surroundings.

Her lips were quivering and she was shaking so hard her teeth were chattering. She started to cry and dragged in a ragged breath, struggling to breathe.

"Slowly." He said softly watching her struggle to breathe.

Lifting her off the ground, Daryl carried her inside, all the while thinking about how he was going to kill his brother.


	24. Chapter 24

Daryl didn't know what to do. She was just laying on the bed staring at the wall, curled up in a ball. Guilt washed over him. This was his flesh and blood that did this and he's the one that brought him back here. There were no words to express how sorry he felt and he wondered if she might never want to see him again.

Pacing back and forth in the room, he was getting more and more agitated, his shame building as time went by. Daryl had never been good for anybody in his mind and for a while, he thought he could escape his past and start over, but it had been an illusion. Merle's return brought Daryl back to reality.

The Dixon boys were no good.

Anger began to coldly settle in like a low hanging fog. Looking down at the catatonic figure of Katelyn, he pushed away he immediate softening of his heart and replaced it with his long-praticed rage. Some people were meant to lead happy lives, and some weren't. That was just the way of it. Katelyn deserved better than Daryl Dixon, and he knew it.

Carol entered the room and took one look at Daryl and knew that something was very wrong. Walking toward him, she paused when she saw the icy cold look in his eyes and sighed.

"Are you okay?" She tried to sound gentle, hiding the fear that was starting to creep in as she realized that something in him had snapped.

"No I'm not okay!" He shouted, the old Daryl rearing its head.

"What's wrong?" Carol asked, knowing it was a stupid question.

"What d'ya mean, 'what's wrong'!" He screamed, "What kind of stupid fucking question is that!?"

Carol flinched.

"Don't flinch like I'm gonna hit you! Christ woman!" Daryl spat, getting right in her face. He was so angry and she was the unfortunately person standing in front of him.

"Daryl. This isn't your fault." Carol tried touching his arm gently but he ripped it away.

"The hell it ain't! Merle's my brother! I brought him here! I knew what he was like and I still brought him here!" Daryl was shouting so loudly now that everyone came running.

"What's going on?" Glenn was the first to speak up.

Daryl was pacing like a caged tiger.

"None o your business, Chinaman!" Daryl snapped, hoping to insult him so he'd go away. He wanted everyone to just leave him the hell alone.

"Woah….sorry." Glenn said, backing up, his hands raised in surrender.

Maggie came up behind him and frowned. Katelyn was lying on the bed staring at Daryl as he ranted and raved. Her eyes were wide in surprise.

"Daryl, you're scaring Katelyn." Maggie tried using Katelyn's condition to get him to calm down but it had the opposite effect.

"Man, fuck you! It's my damn fault she's lying there! Why wouldn't I scare her!? I'm just a dumb fuckin' redneck son of a bitch who always fucks things up!" Daryl was ranting, pacing back and forth as he yelled.

"Shit! I might as well been the one that hurt 'er! I ain't good for nothin'!" He continued to shout.

Everyone was standing outside the door watching him. They were completely silent, knowing that at this point he just needed to vent a little but they were worried about Katelyn.

"Don't know why a girl like that even bothers with me! It's never gonna work! I'm fuckin' bayou backwater, poor white trash! Maybe she's just slummin'! The end o the world come and she needed me for a while, but the minute shit gets back to normal, I'm history anyways!" Daryl was out of control now, his face red with anger as he got himself worked up.

"Yeah! She's gonna dump me anyways the minute Madeline gets that shit to her lab and finds a cure! See ya, Daryl!" Daryl couldn't see Katelyn behind him. If he had, he'd have crumbled to the ground. Her face went from blank to an expression full of sorrow and pain as she watched him.

She wasn't afraid of him, but for him.

_Oh my god_, she thought, _is that what Daryl really thinks?_

It was Hershel that stepped forward.

"Son, you need to calm down, or go for a walk." Hershel stated firmly, coming forward on his crutches to put a hand on his arm.

"Shut up, old man! I'll go for a walk! I'll go for a walk and I won't come back!" Daryl ranted, blowing past Hershel and almost knocking him over.

As he was leaving, he yelled over his shoulder.

"Man, fuck all y'all!"

And then he was gone.

Everyone looked at Katelyn who lay staring at the space where Daryl used to be, a single tear sliding down her face.

######################################################################

Merle ran through the forest, not even looking for walkers that might be around. His mind was racing as he replayed the events over again in his head. He didn't know if they were chasing him, but he'd have to get far away from both them and the prison just in case.

_Shit!_ He thought to himself._ He had really fucked up._

Merle loved his brother. He'd looked out for him the best he could. In his own way, he'd tried to teach him about the world; how to survive and not get hurt. Maybe he'd been wrong. Maybe it wasn't so bad if Daryl fell in love. He'd always been the sweet one.

Not Merle though. He was born mean. Not an ounce of sweet in him. Merle, however, wasn't stupid. He knew that his way of looking at things got him in trouble a lot. Hurt him a lot. Not that he'd admit it, but he was 40 years old, never been in love, had a criminal record, had a hell of a drug habit, and had committed murder multiple times in his life. _He weren't no saint! _

Daryl, on the other hand…his only trouble had been Merle. If he hadn't shown him…pushed him to do things, Daryl'd probably be married with a few chubby kids, happy as a clam by now if Merle hadn't of dragged him all over the road. Daryl just wasn't cut out for the kind of life that Merle lived.

Merle slowed down when he saw a paved road through the trees up ahead. Crouching down behind a tree, he searched the area before heading out onto the road. Putting one foot in front of the other, Merle headed into the west.


	25. Chapter 25

Michonne, Rick and the others lost Merle's trail and were heading home. At least, they knew, that he was gone. They were, however, surprised, when they heard Daryl's cycle start up and saw him driving away from the prison. Rick was worried that he was going off after his brother, so they started jogging, waving their arms at him to flag him down.

They raced to the road, but Daryl just blew by them, not even glancing their way. They all stopped to watch the tail lights on his bike disappear. Rushing inside, they hurried into the cell block but stopped when they saw everyone standing around talking quietly in the main room.

"What happened?" Rick asked, his face a mask of intensity.

"Daryl left." Hershel stated, looking at the teary-eyed Carol who stood chewing on her lip behind him.

What do you mean, left?" Rick asked, trying to clarify.

"He's angry and upset. He said he wasn't coming back." Glenn offered.

"Is he going after Merle?" Rick asked, trying to piece together what happened.

"We don't know. He just flipped out, got angry, started ranting like a lunatic, and then said he was leaving and never coming back." Glenn explained.

Rick and Michonne glanced at each other with concern.

"Where's Katelyn?" Rick asked, still confused over what happened.

"She's in their room. She hasn't moved or said anything since the whole thing happened. Daryl freaked out and left and she's in shock. Still lying there not moving…I don't know. The whole thing was crazy." Carol said, babbling. She didn't really know how to explain it.

"Is Daryl mad at Katelyn, or Merle?" Rick asked.

"I'm pretty sure he's mad and Merle…and himself." Andrea stated, trying to explain the situation.

"Why did he leave then?" Rick asked. This made no sense to him.

"I think he panicked. His own brother hurt the woman that he loves and he feels…ashamed and guilt-ridden." Carol said softly. She had always understood Daryl.

"I still don't get it." Rick admitted, sighing in frustration.

"Underneath it all, he's scared that he and Merle are the same. They're blood after all…he's got a case of self-loathing going on." Andrea clarified.

"So he left Katelyn?" Rick asked.

"Yeah. Before he hurt her." Andrea finished, feeling bad for Daryl. She'd always liked him. He was gruff and stubborn as hell, but when she shot him on accident, his true colors came through.

"He would never hurt her." Rick rationalized.

"Yeah. You and I know that…everyone else here knows that, but Daryl. He's blaming himself for his family." Andrea said, smiling sadly at Rick.

"Shit." Rick swore, thinking about how they'd make it without him. Daryl was an important member of their family. They needed him, but more than thought…they all wanted him around. Every member of their group had come to care for him.

Daryl was family.

"Should we go after him?" Andrea asked, looking to Rick to decide.

"No point. We don't know where he went and even if we did, he's stubborn. No, if Daryl's gonna come back, its gonna be on his own terms." Rick said, knowing exactly how Daryl was.

Everyone nodded.

###########################################################################

A month passed at the prison and Rick and the others knew that they couldn't wait any longer. They had to get out of there. They'd avoided it for as long as they could, but Madeline's research was a priority they just couldn't ignore.

Katelyn might as well have been the walking dead at this point. She wandered aimlessly most of the day, saying little to anyone, and eating even less. She'd lost weight and it was all they could do to get her to eat anything. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, her skin pale, and she cried herself to sleep every night.

Her heart was broken.

The others were careful not to talk about leaving around her but the time had come and they had no choice. Today, Rick was going to tell her they had to move out.

Walking into her bunk area, Rick paused to knock. Sitting on her bed, she looked like a ghost. Her food was untouched and she didn't even seem to notice him enter.

"Hey, Katelyn." Rick said softly, not wanting to startle her.

She turned her head to look at him, her face devoid of expression.

"I need to talk to you." He said, sitting down on the bunk next to her.

Katelyn looked up at him and Rick sighed.

"There's no easy way to tell you this but we gotta move." He decided it was best to just come out and say it.

Katelyn closed her eyes for a second, her tongue snaking out to wet her dry lips before opening them again.

"We've gotta help Madeline find a lab and a way to communicate with others. It's important." He explained, taking her hand in his to comfort her.

Katelyn's eyebrows narrowed in pain.

"I know this is hard, but we're gonna pack you up and you're coming with us. You're family now and we take care of our own." Rick tried to comfort her and let her know that they all cared. He knew that Daryl would have wanted it that way.

Katelyn closed her eyes again, a tear slipping under her lid, before trailing down her cheek.

"I'm sorry." Rick whispered, squeezing her hand before looking up to see Andrea standing in the doorway.

"I came to help her get packed." Andrea said quietly.

They both looked at Katelyn for some sort of sign of acknowledgement.

Katelyn's eyes opened. Wet from tears, and with her lip quivering, she nodded sadly.

Rick stood, patting her hand once more as Andrea moved into the room.

Katelyn began to stand up, but all of a sudden bolted for the bucket that served as the bathroom in her room. Grabbing the sides of it, she heaved the empty contents of her stomach into it.

Andrea grabbed her hair to pull it back and started rubbing her back soothingly as Kate continued to dry heave into the bucket. Rick ran to get a cold washcloth for her and when he returned, Kate was leaning back against Andrea.

"How long have you been sick?" Andrea asked, worrying that her frail condition was taking its toll on her.

Katelyn shrugged.

"Just a few days." She said quietly, leaning her head against the wall as Andrea put the cloth on the back of her neck.

"You gotta eat somethin' baby." Andrea said, wiping her hair from her sweating face.

Katelyn closed her eyes.

"You gotta keep up your strength. Moving isn't ever easy. Come on. Let's get you in bed and then you're gonna eat some of your lunch there." Andrea ordered, mother-henning Katelyn.

Katelyn nodded acquiescently.

"You've been through a lot. You're stronger than you think you are. You can do this." Andrea comforted, knowing that Kate needed some encouragement.

Katelyn took a deep breath and laid back against the pillows Andrea propped up behind her.

Andrea picked up the bowl of soup and handed it to her. Katelyn's shaking hand grasped the spoon and she began to eat.

"Good. After that, you'll nap. I'm gonna pack your things and then we'll make a bed in the back of the car for you to lay down, okay?" Andrea said.

Katelyn nodded again.

Andrea smiled and got busy while the last of Katelyn's hope for Daryl's return, was packed alongside of her things.


	26. Chapter 26

Daryl grabbed his map, looking for spots that would have gas. He'd managed to find a few cars with full tanks that he'd siphoned gas from, but now he was running out. He knew that a lot of farms had tanks, so he decided the best way to go about searching was to stash his bike in a central location and start searching farms on foot.

Heading toward Minerton, he turned off onto Route 48 where a lot of old farm houses dotted the countryside. The rolling hills and deep oak forests made him feel at home. Seeing the beautiful farmhouses and the lazy hills reminded him of what he'd always dreamed he'd have someday. His thoughts quickly turned to Katelyn and a horrible sadness settled in.

God, he missed her.

He couldn't fix what Merle'd done, and now, he couldn't fix what he'd done. He'd gone and fucked things up just like he knew he would, but it still made him sad.

With a heavy heart, he turned down the first road toward the perfect white farmhouse and tried to push his thoughts away. Hurrying up the gravel driveway, he noticed that a few walkers rambled in the fields, trapped by the fences of the pasture. Ignoring them, he continued toward the house.

Creeping up to the front porch, he quietly turned the doorknob but a deadbolt locked it from the inside. Moving around to the back side of the house, he noticed a few loose chickens and ducks that scattered as he moved toward them.

_Dinner_, he thought.

Moving to the back door, he tried the handle, but it was locked as well. Checking under the mat, Daryl found a key and used it to open the door. The squeaky hinges reminded him of the house he grew up in. Stepping softly, he entered the kitchen, swinging his crossbow side to side but there was no one in there.

The house was tidy, like the lady who lived her cleaned it up before they left. Moving further into the house, he searched each room, clearing it to make sure there weren't walkers within, but each room was spotless. Finding the basement door, he slowly moved down the crickety stairs and into the dark basement. Trying the lightswitch, Daryl was surprised when the light turned on, illuminating the large rooms below.

The place was clean, boxes stacked in corners, covers on old furniture they were storing. Shelves with cans and bottles of food lined the walls. A large refrigerator stood in the corner near the washer and dryers. Walking over to it, he opened it curiously, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was still on.

_There must be a generator on the property_, he thought to himself, smiling at his luck. _What a perfect place for he and Katelyn_. He couldn't help the thought popping into his head. Growling angrily, he slammed the door of the cooler and stomped back upstairs. Opening the cupboards, Daryl looked through them, finding all sorts of canned goods.

He had hit the jackpot.

Closing the cupboards, he went back to the kitchen door and opened it, putting the key in his pocket for later use. Heading across the yard, he moved to the barn which was shut as well. Lifting the wooden slat, Daryl opened the barn doors wide to find a well-kept barn with stalls. He could tell they used to have horses because there were stacks of alfalfa hay and tack in one of the stalls and saddles, reigns, and blankets on the walls.

Shutting the barn doors again, he moved on to the large equipment shed nearby. Turning the doorknob, it was also locked so he checked for a key under the mat once again and found it. Opening the door, he immediately heard the generator and stepped inside. Tractors, a horse trailer, tools and all sorts of other equipment was stacked neatly on shelves. Walking behind the shelves, Daryl finally found the pump, just inside a back door which the vehicles could drive through.

Opening the back door, Daryl came out behind the shed and immediately was confronted with a large group of walkers. Pulling the door shut quickly, Daryl's heart started racing as he realized that the people had probably left their livestock in the fields and a herd must have been attracted to this place because of it. Now they just wandered around the property aimlessly, searching for food.

Daryl moved quickly out the front of the shed. He could hear the walkers banging on the back door and started running to the back of the house, darting inside before any saw him. Locking the door behind him, he began searching the house for any weapons.

He didn't have to search very far. Whoever lived her had several shotguns, a couple of rifles, and a pistol, but more importantly, they had ammo. Lots of ammo.

Pulling everything out, Daryl decided that he'd try to start taking out the herd in the morning. They'd probably stay near the back of the shed so it'd be easy for him to climb on top and start picking them off. The barn had two levels as well so he could also shoot them from there. If he kept moving places, they wouldn't be able to pinpoint his location as well. He could even use the chopper to draw them away if he had time to go and grab it.

Daryl sighed with sadness though, his thoughts turning back to Katelyn. He could definitely see them settling down in a place like this.

But Dixon's weren't meant for that kind of life.

#################################################################################

Madeline knew that the most likely place to find military survivors was going to be to the west. The vast deserts and mountains would make it extremely difficult for the walkers to be dangerous. It was winter, as well, and she theorized that the cold weather might slow them down, maybe even make them dormant.

The group was reluctant to leave the familiar surroundings of the south and travel across the country that far, but they knew that Madeline was right about contacting the government. A place like Cheyenne Mountains in Colorado Springs would be inpenetrable to the walkers and the deserts in Utah and New Mexico would likely be walker free. It was important enough that they all were willing to sacrifice their comfort to complete the mission, they just weren't happy about it.

As the group traveled west on Interstate 20, they came to another massive traffic jam and stopped their cars. Getting out, everyone stretched their sore muscles and walked around.

"Michonne!" Rick called out as he moved back toward her. "Let's scout ahead a little. See if there's a way through this. See that SUV over there. Let's grab it. We can fit more people are gear into it." He continued, pointing at a large, black Denali parked at a slant on the incline.

Michonne nodded, making her way toward Rick.

"I'll grab it!" Andrea called, grabbing her machete from the seat, and making her way over to it.

"There's a lot of stuff to scavenge amongst these cars. Maggie and I will start looking through gear." Glenn offered, grabbing his weapons and gear from the seat of their car.

"All right. Tyreese, you stay and watch everyone else. Carl, you're with me." Rick stated, waving for Carl to move forward.

Tyreese nodded, opening up a station wagon that was near them to pull out the gear he could see stacked within.

"You two wanna help me go through this stuff?" Tyreese asked his sister, Adam and Ben.

Ben rushed over to help while Sasha grabbed some more luggage to look through.

Katelyn crawled out of the back to get some fresh air. Standing beside Carol, she looked around at the miles of cars, suddenly feeling very lost and alone.

_Please be okay_, she prayed, thinking of Daryl out there on his own. She prayed for weeks that he'd return, but he didn't. Then she prayed that they'd find him along the road, but they didn't. Now, all she could do was love him from afar and hope that he was all right.

Carol saw the sheen in Katelyn's eyes and put her arm around her.

"He's okay." Carol said quietly, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

Katelyn nodded, more to convince herself than anything.

Carol squeezed her shoulder but she herself had her doubts. She was very worried about Daryl and though they had left a note behind at the prison, she doubted they would ever see him again.

Katelyn suddenly felt woozy, swaying on her feet, and Carol grabbed her before she fell.

"You okay?" Carol asked, startled for a second.

Katelyn turned away immediately and ran behind the car. Bending over, she threw up all over the grass beside the road. Carol grabbed a water bottle and rushed over to her. Handing it to her, Carol smiled warmly. Katelyn stood, taking the water bottle gratefully.

"I'm car sick." She said, chuckling at the ridiculousness. They were living in a world filled with the walking dead and Katelyn couldn't get over a little motion sickness.

Irony rears its ugly head.

But Carol frowned, unconvinced. Katelyn had been throwing up off and on for weeks now and if she were this ill, she'd have a fever. She was worried it was something else entirely. Something incurable and much more dangerous.

Katelyn caught Carol's look and frowned.

"What?" Katelyn asked, laughing a little at Carol's expression.

Carol's mouth tightened.

"Katelyn, are you sure it's car sickness?" Carol whispered quietly, not wanting anyone else to hear.

"What do you mean?" Katelyn asked, frowning in confusion.

Carol sighed, not knowing whether to say anything.

"Never mind." Carol said, thinking that she needed to have Glenn run an errand before she started asked about her wild theories.

Katelyn was still frowning.

"Really, its nothing. I'm just being paranoid." Carol said, trying to laugh it off.

But Katelyn had been wondering the same thing.


	27. Chapter 27

Daryl spent two weeks, carefully picking off every last walker near the farm. Moving from one spot to another, he kept them running in circles as he dropped them one at a time. Three days of dragging their bodies into piles, Daryl lit a match and watched them burn. The fire flickered, entrancing Daryl, as his mind floated off to memories of other fires. Fires that killed. Fires that protected. Fires that they all sat around as a family.

Tears actually came to his eyes as he thought about all of those they'd buried…and burned.

He lost his brother.

He lost his family.

He lost Katelyn.

Two of those had been his fault. Merle was another story.

He couldn't believe that Merle had tried to kill Katelyn. What the hell could he have been thinking…and why? That's the part he didn't understand, was why. It didn't make any sense to him. He couldn't fathom why Merle would hate her so much. They just met. He didn't know her. So what if he didn't like her, but Merle hated everyone and he didn't try to kill them.

Maybe the Governor had changed Merle…for the worse. If that were possible.

If Daryl was going to be honest with himself, he had to admit that Merle had always been a wicked bastard. He couldn't think of anything redeemable about him really. Maybe his courage. Merle was a brave SOB, but nothing else really. He was tough, but that had also made him mean, and he didn't know anybody meaner than Merle.

But Daryl wanted more.

He wasn't interested in just surviving anymore. He wanted happiness. He had touched happiness, with Kate, but he'd thrown it away. He'd been so scared she'd reject him, that he'd run. Maybe Merle's courage wasn't real. Real courage, was being able to love, and risk the possibility of pain. Merle cut off that possibility out of fear of pain, and that wasn't bravery. That was fear.

Merle Dixon was afraid.

Daryl swallowed, thinking back to all the time he'd spent as a kid, looking up to Merle. He'd thought he was what real men were supposed to be like. Angry and mean, battling everyone, clawing your way through, but he'd tasted real love. He knew there was more to life.

"Shit!" Daryl swore, looking around the empty house.

He had to go back.

###############################################################################

Packed in 2 SUV's and a station wagon, the group of survivors made their way through the mess of cars slowly. They'd found lots of dead, and only a handful of walkers, but they were able to resupply just about everything they needed from the throng of cars with luggage. Emptying the gas tanks, they filled their portable ones, and loaded them into the back of the SUV's. They'd be able to make it two or three days without having to find more, but kept their eyes out for possible fill up spots just to be sure.

Katelyn was still struggling with keeping food down and Carol grew more and more worried as the days went on. Turning off at an exit for a small town, Rick and Tyreese headed into the grocery store with Maggie and Glenn following behind. Carol took the opportunity to go talk to Hershel privately.

"Hershel. Can I speak with you?" Carol asked quietly, coming up to him.

"Sure Carol. What d'ya need?" He asked congenially.

"You noticed how sick Katelyn's been?" She asked softly.

Hershel paused, looking at Carol, as he went back through the events in his head.

"I know she's been sick off and on but honestly, with everything going on, I hadn't thought much of it, other than to make sure she's getting some food." Hershel stated, searching Carol's face for clues as to what she was getting at.

"Do you think she's pregnant?" Carol whispered, looking around to make sure no one was near them.

Hershel thought hard, his mouth tightening in concentration.

"That's a good question. She's been eating better. I just assumed she was so distraught over what happened, she just got depressed and sick. I'm not sure she can get pregnant, Carol, but we should probably find out." Hershel said thoughtfully, looking over toward Katelyn who was sitting in the back of the car, leaning her head against the window frame.

"I'll go talk to her. You go find a test." Hershel said, beginning to move toward Katelyn with his awkward gate.

He walked by Carl who was holding the baby and took a deep breath. It was already hard with one baby, but two…that was gonna be hell.

Carol walked inside the grocery store and made her way casually toward the pharmacy. Climbing over piles of things people just threw on the floor, she didn't hear Glenn approaching.

"What are you looking for?" Glenn asked, walking up to Carol.

Carol was startled and Maggie smirked at the guilty look on her face.

"Someone looks guilty." She commented, playfully elbowing Carol.

Carol looked around frantically, not wanting anyone else to hear.

"Shhh." She hushed, causing Maggie to realize it was serious.

"What's going on?" Maggie asked, looking at Glenn with a worried expression.

"I think we have a problem." Carol whispered, looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching.

"I think Katelyn's pregnant." She said quietly.

Maggie and Glenn fell silent, shocked expressions plastered across their faces.

"Shit!" Glenn hissed, trying to be quiet, but he was less than pleased.

"How?" Maggie demanded, feeling stupid after she asked.

Carol glared at her lopsidedly, like, "Really? You need to ask that?"

"Sorry. I mean I know how…but how?" Maggie rephrased.

"I don't know. I would have thought they'd been careful, but then again, I've never seen Daryl Dixon walking around with condoms." Carol said.

"What if its food poisoning or something?" Glenn asked, digging through stuff laying around in the aisle.

"For four weeks?" Maggie asked, laughing at him.

"Okay, but they weren't together that long and…" Glenn paused, finding a box marked EPT.

"It only takes once, genius." Maggie snorted, throwing at box of pads at his head.

"Hershel wants me to grab one of those. He's talking to Katelyn now." Carol stated before continuing, "Just keep it quiet for now, okay?"

They both nodded and headed toward the back of the store to round up other supplies.


	28. Chapter 28

Daryl saw the old biker bar as he drove back toward the old prison. He'd loaded up his cycle on the back of a 1-Ton, taken gas and supplies, and headed south toward the prison a week or so ago. He was nervous about seeing her again. Now that he'd left, he was sure that she hated him and would never forgive him, but he just couldn't go on without trying to set it right with her.

Pulling up to the front, he turned the truck off and grabbed his crossbow. Slinging it over his back, he strapped his machete and other weapons on before lowering his crossbow to approach the door. Slowly advancing, he made sure his boots didn't cause any noise as he snuck up to the front door. Seeing the door ajar, he began nudging it open with his foot before swinging his crossbow back and forth to clear the room.

Pushing the door quietly shut behind him, he glanced around the interior of the bar, noticing that most of the booze had been stolen or smashed, the chairs and tables flipped over…except for one. Across the room, sitting in front of a table with his back to a window was none other than Merle Dixon.

"Shit!" Daryl swore, moving quickly toward him, holding the crossbow at ready. Daryl couldn't figure out why he wasn't moving, or saying anything so he called out.

"Merle! You son of a bitch! You got a lot of explaining to do before I kill your ass!" Daryl threatened, noticing that his brother's hands were tied behind his back and the sun which blocked his view of Merle didn't notice the gag in his mouth before it was too late.

He felt the cold steel of a gun against his cheek all of a sudden and stopped.

"Look at this. I got both Dixon boys here for the party." The raspy, smooth voice of the Governor resonated in Daryl's ear and he closed his eyes, sighing.

"Move!" The Governor grated out, shoving Daryl forward, causing him to stumble toward his brother.

"I've been out to the prison already, noticed that you two boys had cleared out. Too bad." The Governor knew that the prison was empty, but he'd found the note they left Daryl and realized that he'd think that the Governor got ahold of them.

Fire raced through Daryl's veins and his heart began pounding as he realized what the Governor was saying.

"You had a lot of pretty girls with you…" The Governor let the implication hang, adding fuel to the lit fire.

Daryl's hands had gone cold, his breathing coming in heaving pants now, but the Governor made one mistake.

If Katelyn was dead, then there was no point in living anymore and Daryl would rather die taking that son of bitch out.

"I got to spend some quality time with my daughter." The Governor stated, not realizing or not caring that he was pushing Daryl over the edge.

Daryl barely heard him, his ears were ringing with a rush of adrenaline. He turned suddenly, his arm swinging back, knocking the rifle to the side before moving in for the kill. Grabbing the Governor by the throat, Daryl pushed him back, all the way across the room, until he hit the wall with him, growling the whole way.

The Governor didn't even get a chance to move before Daryl wrenched the gun out of his hand and hit him across the face with it. Daryl didn't stop. He was using it as a club now, hitting him over and over again, in the head and the face and the chest. Beating him until his arms fell to his sides and he stopped moving. But Daryl didn't stop then either. Using his boot, he kicked him in the ribs until his feet were sore.

Merle watched as his baby brother went ape shit all over the Governor. He was stunned at the brutality and ferocity that Daryl was capable of. He'd never seen him so primal and was slightly impressed. His baby brother had grown up.

It was Merle's voice that broke the haze that Daryl was in.

"Brother! Daryl! He's dead man! Damn!" Merle shouted, trying to get his attention.

Daryl didn't quite hear him so he tried again.

"He's dead, Daryl!" Merle was chuckling at Daryl's animosity toward the Governor.

Daryl stopped abruptly, his breathing coming in pants as he struggled to get his breath. Turning, he licked his dry lips and looked at his brother.

He felt the rage over what he'd done to Katelyn suddenly fill him and began stalking his way toward Merle. Noticing the look on his brother's face, Merle was suddenly nervous.

"Daryl! I'm sorry man! It was an accident! I was just playing around with her and she freaked out! I didn't hurt her! She passed out!" Merle was begging and trying to scoot his chair sideways out of the way of Daryl's wrath.

Daryl kept coming.

"Daryl! I'm your brother! I didn't mean to scare her! When she passed out, I panicked!" The leg of Merle's chair caught and he tipped on his side. At the mercy of his enraged brother, Merle began begging.

Something made Daryl stop. For the first time in his life, he saw Merle for what he was; a pathetically scared, immoral man who'd turned his own heart to stone so he could appear tough. But he wasn't. He was a coward. And now Daryl knew it.

Daryl's face screwed up, his nose wrinkling while his mouth formed a snarl. He spat on the floor right next to Merle's head before he crouched down next to him.

"I outta leave yo ass here!" Daryl hissed, fury erupting from his eyes.

"Don't leave me. Please. Don't leave me." Merle begged.

"What the fuck's wrong with you!?" Daryl yelled, looking at his brother who was laying sideways.

"I don't know! I screwed up! I panicked!" Merle admitted, choking on panicked sobs.

"You're always screwing up! You need to get your shit straight!" Daryl spat out, grabbing the top of the chair to pull his brother upright.

Merle flinched when Daryl pulled out his knife to cut his ropes.

"If I wanted to stab you, I'd have done it by now you asshole." Daryl muttered, shaking his head at his "big, tough, brother".

Merle shook the ropes off of himself.

"I don't know why I ever looked up to you. You're nothing but a fuck up!" Daryl ranted, pacing back and forth in front of him.

Merle stood up, looking sheepishly at Daryl, realizing for the first time that Daryl was a man now…and he was right. He'd had a fucked up life and he'd learned all the wrong lessons from it.

"What the hell 'm I sposed to do with you?" Daryl continued, shaking his head.

"I'm your brother, man." Merle said quietly.

Daryl just shook his head in irritation.

"Yur girl. He kill 'er, for real?" Merle asked quietly, trying to get his mind off of him.

It was like Merle hit him in the face.

Daryl's face crumpled and he ran out the door. Merle called out to him.

"Wait! I'll come with you!" Merle shouted, limping toward the truck, but Daryl was already pulled out.

The tires spun in the gravel, giving Merle a second to run after the truck and hop in the bed.

Daryl took off.


	29. Chapter 29

**You guys are going to kill me, but like every great trilogy, the 2****nd**** installment ends on a cliffhanger…**

Katelyn sat quietly in the back of the car. She held the test in her hand, staring in disbelief. Hershel kept peeking in the mirror to make sure she was okay.

Her thoughts turned to Daryl and again she prayed, wondering if he's even returned, or if he really did leave forever. Her heart sank at the thought of never seeing him again and she began to cry softly. Turning her head out the window, she watched the trees pass by. Raising her hand slowly, she placed it on her belly protectively. Closing her eyes against the pain, she conjured his smiling face in her mind and imagined his arms around her.

She doubted she would ever see him again and hadn't known how she was going to go on, but the moment she learned she was carrying his child, she felt a ferocity enter her. She would live and love their baby, and in doing so, she would love him.

Even if she never held him again.

###########################################################################

Daryl kicked the chair across the room. The whole place was empty. It had been ransacked so he knew that the Governor had been here but there was no blood, no bodies…no sign that anyone had been killed so he knew the Governor was lying.

Walking over to stairs, he climbed them, going to their old room. The room had been tossed, the bed flipped, but lying on the floor was a piece of paper on it that read:

_I love you._

_We've headed west with Madeline._

_Going to Colorado first._

_Please come home._

Daryl wanted to cry. Holding the piece of paper to his chest, he sank to his knees, leaning his head forward onto the cement.

_They were alive_, he thought, relief filling him, but he had a long journey ahead of him. Sitting back up, he turned to look at his brother who stood quietly in the doorway watching him.

At least he'd learned to keep his mouth shut.

Daryl took a deep breath and stood.

"They've gone west. Heading to Colorado." Daryl stated, walking past Merle and back down the stairs.

Walking straight out of the prison, he headed for the truck. Merle jogged behind him, trying to be jovial but Daryl was single-focused.

"I'll help ya! It's easier with two of us. Besides, I gotta get outta here." Merle said, hopping into the cab on the passenger side.

Daryl didn't tell him no, but he didn't answer him either. He turned the key and backed out, flipping the car around quickly before speeding off down the road.

He watched the prison disappear in the rear view mirror as he smiled.

_Katelyn still loved him._


End file.
